Knowledge Base

EVXT Parameters

Distance Moved

Distance traveled by the center, nose, or tail-base

• Often used as a general measure of activity; also used to calculate other parameters, like velocity and acceleration

Velocity

Distance moved between two points in time (i.e., speed)

Movement

Dichotomized variable of velocity – Moving or Not Moving

• As opposed to velocity, movement provides a general measure, which is useful in long-term home cage studies

Acceleration

Differences in velocity between two samples

Acceleration State

Dichotomized variable of acceleration – High or Low

3 Day Spontaneous Behavior in the Phenotyper

In Zone

Discrete state event based on the zones of interest from the Arena Settings

• Can be added after acquisition for subsequent analysis
• Thigmotaxis, latency to platform (water maze), number of contacts and/or time spent in a zone (NOR, sociability), etc.

Distance to Zone

The shortest distance between a body point and a zone's edge

• Mean Distance to Zone is a qualitative metric (especially if visualized) for progress towards a zone (platform, goal hole)

Distance to Point

The shortest distance between a body point and a single pixel point

• Used in spatial orientation, e.g., upwind odor in insect flight behavior

3 Day Spontaneous Behavior in the PhenoTyper

Meander

Change in direction of movement relative to the distance traveled, i.e., Turn Angle corrected for distance

Target Visits and Errors

Specify zones as Targets or Non-Target

Zone Alternation

Frequency of zone visits of the selected zones consecutively

Zone Transition

Frequency of sequential zone visits

• Transitions between zones (NOR) or Y-maze alternations

Y-Maze Alternations

Direction

Heading

• Direction of movement between frames relative to the x-axis
• Used in spatial orientation, e.g., flight paths relative to wind flow

Heading to Point

• Direction of movement relative to a point of interest
• Used to measure orientation – heading to zone (water maze or NOR)

Head Direction

• Angle of the "unicorn horn" relative to the x-axis
• Used in orientation and searching behaviors

Head Direction to Zone

• Discrete state toward a zone or point
• Especially designed for NOR

Turn Angle

• Change in heading between consecutive frames
• Absolute or Relative – see Meander

Angular Velocity

• Change in direction of movement between two samples per unit of time, i.e., Turn Angle corrected for speed
• Used to measure a response of a danio (or other fish) to a discrete stimulus

Barnes Maze

Activity

If selected in the Experiment Settings

• Percentage of pixel changes per arena

Activity State

Categorical variable of Activity

Body Elongation

If using three-point detection

• Percentage of subject's detected shape
• 0% is circular, 100% is a line

Body Elongation State

If using three-point detection – Categorical variable of Body Elongation

• Stretched, Normal, and Contracted

Body Angle

If using three-point detection

• Angle formed from the tail-center and center-nose lines

Body Angle State

If using three-point detection – Dichotomized variable of Body Angle

Mobility

Percentage of pixel changes per blob (animal)

Rotation

Number of turns: Clockwise or Counterclockwise

• Used to measure cerebral asymmetry or amphetamine-induced rotations

Fear Conditioning Acquisition - Freezing

Trial Control Event

The point event at which a Trial Control Event occurs

Trial Control State

Time interval specified by two events of the Trial Control Settings

Trial Control Variable

Requires the use of TC-Variables in the Trial Control Settings

• Used as a counter in learning tasks (like the Progressive Ratio) or in the Cognition Wall Task

Fear Conditioning – Activity After Footshock

Source: EthoVision XT 18 - THC - Trial and Hardware Control, Noldus Information Technology