1. The fear conditioned response under head fixation
- Author
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Mohajerani, Majid H., Sutherland, Robert J., Naghizadeh, Milad, University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science, Mohajerani, Majid H., Sutherland, Robert J., Naghizadeh, Milad, and University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
- Abstract
In classic measures of fear induced freezing behavior, animals stop all movement except breathing. Many large-scale recording techniques in modern neuroscience such as wide-field and two-photon fluorescent imaging require animals be in a head-fixed preparation. Here we demonstrate that it is possible to measure freezing behavior in head-fixed mice based on video measurements of motion, the pupillary response, and electromyography of neck muscles. Animals were either conditioned to form an association between a tone (conditioned stimulus; CS) and a footshock (unconditioned stimulus; US) or were presented both tones and footshocks explicitly unpaired. Animals who were conditioned to form an association showed less movement, and a stronger pupil response when presented with the CS. We outline key considerations which are likely important in establishing a strong fear response in a head-fixed preparation.
- Published
- 2020