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Modeling Mouse Anxiety and Sensorimotor Integration: Neurobehavioral Phenotypes in the Suok Test

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Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 63))

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Abstract

Animal behavioral tests are useful tools for modeling complex human brain disorders. The Suok test (ST) is a relatively new behavioral paradigm that simultaneously examines anxiety and neurological/vestibular phenotypes in rodents. The novelty and instability of the ST apparatus induces anxiety-related behavior in mice, whereas the elevation of the horizontal rod allows for the assessment of motor and neurological phenotypes. This chapter discusses the utility of the ST in detecting mouse anxiety, habituation, exploration, motorisensory deficits, and the interplay between these domains. With a growing number of laboratories using this model, a detailed protocol for the ST behavioral analysis (with a focus on video-tracking tools and novel applications) is also provided.

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Acknowledgment

The study was supported by Tulane University Intramural funds, Provost’s Scholarly Enrichment Fund, Newcomb Fellows Grant, and NARSAD YI Award. This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Eli Utterback.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Connecticut College, New London, CT, USA

    Elisabeth Dow

  2. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Valerie Piet

  3. Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Program, Tulane University Medical School, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Adam Stewart, Siddharth Gaikwad, Jonathan Cachat, Peter Hart, Nadine Wu, Evan Kyzar, Eli Utterback, Alan Newman, Molly Hook, Kathryn Rhymes, Dillon Carlos & Allan V. Kalueff

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  1. Elisabeth Dow
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  14. Allan V. Kalueff
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Correspondence to Allan V. Kalueff .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, W. Baltimore Street 685, Baltimore, 21201, Maryland, USA

    Todd D. Gould

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Dow, E. et al. (2011). Modeling Mouse Anxiety and Sensorimotor Integration: Neurobehavioral Phenotypes in the Suok Test. In: Gould, T. (eds) Mood and Anxiety Related Phenotypes in Mice. Neuromethods, vol 63. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-313-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-313-4_4

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-312-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-313-4

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