Daniel D. Feyissa, Yogesh D. Aher, Ephrem Engidawork, Harald Höger, Gert Lubec, Volker Korz
Abstract
Animal models for anxiety, depressive-like and cognitive diseases or aging often involve testing of subjects in behavioral test batteries. The large number of test variables with different mean variations and within and between test correlations often constitute a significant problem in determining essential variables to assess behavioral patterns and their variation in individual animals as well as appropriate statistical treatment. Therefore, we applied a multivariate approach (principal component analysis) to analyse the behavioral data of 162 male adult Sprague-Dawley rats that underwent a behavioral test battery including commonly used tests for spatial learning and memory (holeboard) and different behavioral patterns (open field, elevated plus maze, forced swim test) as well as for motor abilities (Rota rod). The high dimensional behavioral results were reduced to fewer components associated with spatial cognition, general activity, anxiety-, and depression-like behavior and motor ability. The loading scores of individual rats on these different components allow an assessment and the distribution of individual features in a population of animals. The reduced number of components can be used also for statistical calculations like appropriate sample sizes for valid discriminations between experimental groups, which otherwise have to be done on each variable. Because the animals were intact, untreated and experimentally naïve the results reflect trait patterns of behavior and thus individuality. The distribution of animals with high or low levels of anxiety, depressive-like behavior, general activity and cognitive features in a local population provides information of the probability of their appeareance in experimental samples and thus may help to avoid biases. However, such an analysis initially requires a large cohort of animals in order to gain a valid assessment.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
12
11%
Psychology
11
10%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
10
9%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
5
5%
Other
14
13%
Unknown
41
37%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 01 March 2017.
All research outputs
#13,022,980
of 22,952,268 outputs
Outputs from Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
#1,441
of 3,192 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#152,500
of 309,413 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
#30
of 68 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,952,268 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 42nd percentile – i.e., 42% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,192 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 11.3. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 52% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 68 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 52% of its contemporaries.
