Knowledge Base

Acquire the Data

Protocol

Each test described in this manual has one or more specific protocols. See the chapter that applies.

Important: Always record your video with EthoVision XT or MediaRecorder. Do not record video with Pylon Viewer or other software! The resulting video file may not be compatible with EthoVision XT.

Acquire the Tracks

Procedure

1. Check that you have selected the correct Video Source in the Experiment Settings.
2. Choose Acquisition > Open Acquisition.
3. Optional: Skip this step if you have entered the values of the independent variables already in the Trial List. Open the Independent Variables tab of the Analysis Results and Scoring pane at the bottom of your screen and enter the values of the independent variables. You can also do this during acquisition.
4. If you did not plan any trials in the Trial List, click the New Trial button in the Playback Control window (Ctrl+F3).
5. If you planned two or more trials, select in the Acquisition Settings window whether you want to track only the next planned trial, or all planned trials. If you carry out batch acquisition and track live, also specify the Inter-trial interval.
6. Optional: In the Acquisition Settings window, select Auto-start data analysis. Do this to start calculation of analysis results immediately after acquisition. If you choose this option, first create an Analysis profile and optionally a Data profile and a Track Smoothing profile. Choose whether to carry out analysis only for the profiles highlighted in blue in the Experiment Explorer, or for all possible profile combinations. In the latter case, first delete all profiles you do not need for analysis.
7. Start the trial by choosing Acquisition > Start Trial, clicking the Start Trial button in the Playback Control window, or pressing Ctrl+F5.
8. If you do live tracking, release the animal in the arena.
9. Data acquisition starts when the Start track condition in your Trial Control Settings becomes true.
10. The trial stops automatically when the Stop track condition specified in the Trial Control Settings becomes true, or when the time defined under Maximum Trial Duration has expired. If you planned a series of trials, the next trial will start. To stop the trial manually, choose Acquisition > Stop Trial, click the Stop Trial button in the Playback Control window, or press Ctrl+F6.

If you chose to simultaneously record a video file, the video file that has been created is stored on your PC in the Media Files folder of your experiment.

After Testing

After each test, remove any debris (bedding, feces, etc.) from the arena and clean all interior surfaces, walls and floor thoroughly, first using water and soap, or a perspex cleaner, then with water. Allow at least 5 minutes between tests to ensure that any residual odor will have dissipated before the next animals are introduced into the test apparatus.

Do not use wet ethylene oxide, steam, strong acids, hydrocarbons, ethanol, methanol, or solvents containing acetone.

Table 1: Acceptable techniques and substances for cleaning acrylic (perspex):

• Electronic beam
• High intensity visible light
• Gamma radiation
• Alkaline substances (in low concentrations)
• Ethylene oxide gas
• Low-temperature hydrogen peroxide gas plasma
• Hydrogen peroxide (up to 3%)
• Diluted solutions of isopropyl alcohol
• UV radiation

Source: EthoVision XT 18 - Application Manual, Noldus Information Technology