ACTIVITY MONITOR - Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

MED ASSOCIATES INC. ACTIVITY MONITOR
CHAPTER 5
Inserts for Open-Field Activity
Dark Box Insert (Light/Dark Test)
NOTE: Inserts are not currently available for the VTI system.
Dark Boxes are available for both the mouse (ENV-511) and rat (ENV-516) sized activity
chambers. The two-compartment Light/Dark Test (Light/Dark Conflict Test) is one of the
classic indices of anxiety and is easily incorporated into the system while examining other
components of locomotor activity. The Dark Box Insert is opaque to visible light and
designed to cover 1/2 the area of the OA Chamber. There is an opening into the Dark
Box that allows the subject to pass freely, but is sufficiently small to minimize the
amount of light that enters the darkened area. I/R Array height is the same as that for
general open-field monitoring.
The time spent in the light area or dark area, and entries into each zone, is determined
using the Zone Analysis utility with two zones. The residual zone may be placed between
the two zones to minimize artifact of "bouncing" or "flickering" as a subject enters or
leaves a zone and to examine time in transition between the two zones. Match the two
zones with the two areas of the Light/Dark test and analyze the data. Factory configured
chambers are set up so that coordinate (0.5, 0.5) is at the opposite corner from the ENV-
520 controller box and coordinate (16, 16) is in the same corner as the controller box.
For complete instructions see Zone Analysis.
Figure 5-1 - Zone Analysis Setup for the Light/Dark Insert
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