Detailed protocol of the open field test for social behavior

[Eagle9]

Good day guys

I need your help. I am going to run the open field test for social behavior, I need to put two rats in open field arena and then to measure what time they will spend close to each other or far from each other, also to see the distance they cover. Essentially, I need to assess the social isolation caused by certain substance administered to rats.

But the problem is that I do not have detailed protocol for such test. I searched in google and various sites/papers give various information during how much time the test should be run (during 5 min, 10 min and etc.) Also, I need to know during how many days the rats should be isolated before test (some papers indicate that rats should be isolated for 10 days before test begins)? Can you help me? Are you aware of such tests?

 

[Fervent Freyja]

I have never worked with live animals, so don't know where to point you to a specific protocol.

Did any of those software programs I linked in a prior thread have pre-loaded settings for common protocols performed in behavioral testing? They are specifically for documenting social behaviors in rats and mice. It seems there should be some default protocols of the most common procedures, but should also let you adjust settings to fit the specific experiment. Otherwise, there be no point in even publishing software that doesn't track and guide you to documenting social behaviors. Trying to document that by hand without a specific protocol won't work well, the results need to be in publishable form that others in the field are familiar with. The software should guide you through it well enough and allow it to be recorded. Maybe the breed, sex, and age of the rats are a factor in determining isolation intervals?

 

[Eagle9]

Did any of those software programs I linked in a prior thread have pre-loaded settings for common protocols performed in behavioral testing?

I have got no idea, where can I see these settings? In the program itself?

 

[Fervent Freyja]

Download the software to see?

 

[Eagle9]

Download the software to see?

Yes, I downloaded