Behavioural Unit
Responsible person: Assoc. Prof. PharmDr. Jana Rudá, Ph.D.
The unit will provide behavioural testing, induce rodent models of neuropsychiatric disorders, including pharmacological, neurodevelopmental, induced by prenatal administration of xenobiotics, or lesion-based models.
The models that have been so far validated:
- Olfactory bulbectomy model of depression
- Neurodevelopmental MAM model of schizophrenia
- Neurodevelopmental polyI:C model of schizophrenia
- Neurodevelopmental valproic acid model of autistic spectrum disorder
- Scopolamine model of dementia
- MPTP model of Parkinson’s disease
- Rotenone model of Parkinson’s disease
Available behavioral models:
- Operant IV drug self-administration model in rats
Available behavioral tests:
- General tests: locomotor activity testing, open field test
- Memory tests: Y maze, Barnes maze, novel object recognition test
- Tests of motor functions: RotaRod, TSE Motorater, grid test, pole test, beam walking tests
- Other tests: forced swim test, social interactions, marble burying test, monitoring of circadian rhythms
General information:
- The unit is divided into two parts – rats and mice. The lighting regime can be reversed. There is a connection to the surgical unit: some models can be induced by surgical intervention, such as operant self-administration or olfactory bulbectomy. After behavioural testing, the animals may be euthanized and samples collected.
- What services/products will the unit provide?
- Development of chronic rodent models and their behavioural phenotyping
- Behavioural phenotyping of genetically modified mouse lines
- Operant self-administration of addictive substances (drug addiction model)
- Cooperation in study design, data analysis, study termination, animal euthanasia, and sample collection
(specific details must be consulted in advance with Assoc. Prof. Ruda; email: jkucer@med.muni.cz)