Behavior Testing in Rodents: Highlighting Potential Confounds Affecting Variability and Reproducibility
Rodent models of brain disorders including neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and neurodegenerative diseases are essential for increasing our understanding of underlying pathology and for preclinical testing of potential treatments. Some of the most important outcome measures in such studies are...
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doaj-c7a532eaee71472b8633b02a363a5a762021-04-20T23:02:39ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252021-04-011152252210.3390/brainsci11040522Behavior Testing in Rodents: Highlighting Potential Confounds Affecting Variability and ReproducibilityRachel Michelle Saré0Abigail Lemons1Carolyn Beebe Smith2Section on Neuroadaptation and Protein Metabolism, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20814, USASection on Neuroadaptation and Protein Metabolism, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20814, USASection on Neuroadaptation and Protein Metabolism, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20814, USARodent models of brain disorders including neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and neurodegenerative diseases are essential for increasing our understanding of underlying pathology and for preclinical testing of potential treatments. Some of the most important outcome measures in such studies are behavioral. Unfortunately, reports from different labs are often conflicting, and preclinical studies in rodent models are not often corroborated in human trials. There are many well-established tests for assessing various behavioral readouts, but subtle aspects can influence measurements. Features such as housing conditions, conditions of testing, and the sex and strain of the animals can all have effects on tests of behavior. In the conduct of behavior testing, it is important to keep these features in mind to ensure the reliability and reproducibility of results. In this review, we highlight factors that we and others have encountered that can influence behavioral measures. Our goal is to increase awareness of factors that can affect behavior in rodents and to emphasize the need for detailed reporting of methods.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/4/522behavior testingvariabilityreproducibilitygene × environment interactionrodenttranslational research |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Rachel Michelle Saré Abigail Lemons Carolyn Beebe Smith |
spellingShingle |
Rachel Michelle Saré Abigail Lemons Carolyn Beebe Smith Behavior Testing in Rodents: Highlighting Potential Confounds Affecting Variability and Reproducibility Brain Sciences behavior testing variability reproducibility gene × environment interaction rodent translational research |
author_facet |
Rachel Michelle Saré Abigail Lemons Carolyn Beebe Smith |
author_sort |
Rachel Michelle Saré |
title |
Behavior Testing in Rodents: Highlighting Potential Confounds Affecting Variability and Reproducibility |
title_short |
Behavior Testing in Rodents: Highlighting Potential Confounds Affecting Variability and Reproducibility |
title_full |
Behavior Testing in Rodents: Highlighting Potential Confounds Affecting Variability and Reproducibility |
title_fullStr |
Behavior Testing in Rodents: Highlighting Potential Confounds Affecting Variability and Reproducibility |
title_full_unstemmed |
Behavior Testing in Rodents: Highlighting Potential Confounds Affecting Variability and Reproducibility |
title_sort |
behavior testing in rodents: highlighting potential confounds affecting variability and reproducibility |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Brain Sciences |
issn |
2076-3425 |
publishDate |
2021-04-01 |
description |
Rodent models of brain disorders including neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and neurodegenerative diseases are essential for increasing our understanding of underlying pathology and for preclinical testing of potential treatments. Some of the most important outcome measures in such studies are behavioral. Unfortunately, reports from different labs are often conflicting, and preclinical studies in rodent models are not often corroborated in human trials. There are many well-established tests for assessing various behavioral readouts, but subtle aspects can influence measurements. Features such as housing conditions, conditions of testing, and the sex and strain of the animals can all have effects on tests of behavior. In the conduct of behavior testing, it is important to keep these features in mind to ensure the reliability and reproducibility of results. In this review, we highlight factors that we and others have encountered that can influence behavioral measures. Our goal is to increase awareness of factors that can affect behavior in rodents and to emphasize the need for detailed reporting of methods. |
topic |
behavior testing variability reproducibility gene × environment interaction rodent translational research |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/4/522 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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