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Do rats really express neophobia towards novel objects? Experimental evidence from exposure to novelty and to an object recognition task in an open space and an enclosed space.

Ennaceur, Abdelkader, Michalikova, Simona and Chazot, Paul (2009) Do rats really express neophobia towards novel objects? Experimental evidence from exposure to novelty and to an object recognition task in an open space and an enclosed space. Behavioural brain research, 197 (2). pp. 417-34. ISSN 1872-7549

Item Type: Article

Abstract

Three set of experiments were performed in an enclosed space (open-field) and in an open space (elevated platform). The surface of the open-field and the elevated platform were divided in nine equal squares. Rats were exposed (without previous habituation) in a unique session (experiment 1) or three consecutive sessions (experiment 2) either to an open-field (enclosed space) or to an elevated platform (open space) with and without an object on the centre of the field. In experiment 3, rats were exposed (without previous habituation) either to an enclosed or an open space on five consecutive sessions, one session a day. They were tested in an object recognition test in sessions 1, 3 and 5. In sessions 2 and 4, no objects were present. In experiment 1, we recorded the latency, frequency and duration of entries into different areas of the field. In experiment 3, we recorded the latency, frequency and duration of contacts with objects in addition to entries into different areas of the field. The first experiment demonstrates that rats exposed for the first time to an enclosed or an open space do not express neophobia toward novel objects in the absence of walls that surround an open-field. They crossed frequently into and spent more time in areas occupied with an object than in unoccupied areas. After two sessions of habituation to an empty open space or an empty enclosed space, the latency of first approach to a novel object is reduced while the frequency and duration of approaches are increased. The third experiment on object recognition confirmed that rats do not avoid novel objects; they made frequent visit and spent more time in the corner of the field occupied with an object than in empty corners. Recording of crossings provided detailed information about the patterns of exploratory behavior of rats but failed to reveal discrimination between novel and familiar objects which was evident in both open and enclosed space with recording of contacts with objects on the fifth exposure.

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Depositing User: Abdelkader Ennaceur

Identifiers

Item ID: 934
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2008.10.007
ISSN: 1872-7549
URI: http://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/934
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2008.10.007

Users with ORCIDS

ORCID for Abdelkader Ennaceur: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6398-4383

Catalogue record

Date Deposited: 19 Oct 2011 12:07
Last Modified: 18 Dec 2019 15:32

Contributors

Author: Abdelkader Ennaceur ORCID iD
Author: Simona Michalikova
Author: Paul Chazot
Author: Abdelkader Ennaceur
Author: Simona Michalikova
Author: P L Chazot

University Divisions

Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing
Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing > School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Subjects

Sciences > Pharmacy and Pharmacology

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