Neurobehavioral Assessments of Cerebral Vasospasm - Animal Models of Acute Neurological Injuries: Injury and Mechanistic Assessments - page 559

6.17.5. Attentional
Set-Shifting Test

See above in attention defi cits.

A rat or mouse is placed in a familiar test chamber fi lled with clean
fresh bedding to a depth of 3-5 cm. A shock probe able to provide
a brief electric shock is mounted on a wall of the cage above the
surface of the bedding. The animal typically touches the probe
soon after being placed in the test chamber. Duration of immobil-
ity and attempts to cover/bury the probe with bedding after being
shocked are recorded for 5-15 min. The test screens for anxiety-
like behavior (rats ( 159, 193, 194 ) and mice ( 195, 196 )).

6.17.6. Shock Probe
Defensive Burying Test

After a 3-day training period, singly housed rats or mice are offered
a palatable food source for 10-30 min in their home cage. Test can
be repeated the next day in a novel cage. Food deprivation may be
necessary for rats. Measures of this test include approach latency,
eating or drinking latency, time spent eating or drinking, and vol-
ume consumed in predetermined time intervals. The test is used to
evaluate the presence of anxiety-like behavior (rats ( 197, 198 ) and
mice ( 114, 199 )).

6.17.7. Novelty-Induced
Hypophagia

Forced Swimming Test
Forced swimming test is commonly used to screen rats and mice
for despair/depression in preclinical testing. Animals are placed in
plexiglass cylinders (20-25 cm in diameter for rats and 13 cm in
diameter for mice) fi lled with water and observed for 5-6 min.
Rats should be habituated to the cylinder by two 5-min swimming
sessions 48 and 24 h before the test. Time spent swimming, fl oat-
ing, and trying to climb the walls of the cylinder is recorded.
Floating is considered a sign of despair/depression. Duration of
fl oating typically decreases under the infl uence of antidepressants
(rats ( 200-202 ) and mice ( 126, 201, 203 )).
Tail Suspension Test
Adhesive tape is wrapped around a mouse's tail in a constant posi-
tion three quarters of the distance from the base of the tail. The
animal is suspended by passing the suspension hook through the
adhesive tape for 6 min. Measures recorded to assess the presence or
absence of despair/depression include the time spent moving/strug-
gling to escape and the degree of immobility ( 126, 201, 204 ).
Organic personality disorder
No appropriate behavioral tests are available.
Apathy and loss of interest
No appropriate behavioral tests are available.
Impairment of social judgment
No appropriate behavioral tests are available.

6.17.8. Affect Lability,
Disinhibition, and/or
Syndrome (Depression)