Knowledge Base

Problem

Users are unsure how to correctly set up EthoVision XT to analyze pre-recorded video of a three-chamber social interaction experiment, including how to configure tracking for only the freely moving subject.

Details

The three-chamber test involves a freely moving subject animal and a stimulus animal confined in a wire mesh cup. Only the subject needs to be tracked. Users need guidance on arena setup, zone definition, and appropriate tracking feature selection for offline video analysis.

Solution

1. Open EthoVision XT and create a new experiment.
2. In Experiment Settings, set the video source to 'From video file' and select the pre-recorded video.
3. Set the number of subjects to 1 (track only the freely moving animal; the stimulus animal in the mesh cage does not need to be tracked).
4. Select tracking features: Nose-point + Center-point + Tail-base (three-point tracking) for accurate behavioral detection.
5. Define the arena and draw the three chamber zones (left chamber, center chamber, right chamber) and any additional zones of interest (e.g., areas around mesh cups).
6. Configure detection settings appropriate for the animal coat/background contrast.
7. Run a trial on a sample video segment to verify tracking accuracy before processing all files.
8. Export or analyze zone visit data, distance moved, and time spent per zone as required for social preference calculations.