The Concentric Square Field: A multivariate test arena for ethoexperimental analysis of explorative strategies

B.J Meyerson¹, H. Augustsson³, M. Berg^1,2, E. Roman² and I. Nylander²

¹Department of Neuroscience
²Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Division of Pharmacology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
³Department of Animal Environment and Health Section of Animal Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

In this study, we describe the behavior of laboratory rats and mice in a device, the Concentric Square Field (CSF). The CSF contains a number of spaces designed to provoke exploration and behaviours associated to risk assessment, risk taking and seeking security in an environment not previously experienced. The model includes sheltered, open and elevated areas, a hole board device, areas of different light conditions and wall enclosed corridors. The rationale behind the CSF is a multivariate test situation that is not predictive in the sense of before hand defining a purpose of measuring a specific mental state. The operational criterion of multivariate is here a free choice of possibilities to stay in areas of different qualities. Evaluation of risky versus safe areas was based on the retrieval behavior in lactating females and hoarding of food pellets in food-deprived males. We here report on the effects of pre-trial social stress, restrain, strain differences and the performance in a repeated trial. A principal component analysis (PCA) contributed, besides the conventional statistics, to discriminate between the various categories tested. The pup retrieval and food hoarding observations show that risk versus safety qualities are associated to particular regions in the CSF apparatus. Quantitative and qualitative differences in the various elements of the behavior profile were obtained by pretrial social stress, strain differences were detected and the animal acquired an experience from the novelty situation, which influenced the behavior in a repeated encounter 40-45 days later, indicating a memory consolidation.

Paper presented at Measuring Behavior 2005 , 5^th International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research, 30 August - 2 September 2005, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

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