Mouse Behavioral Phenotyping Services & Pricing

The core is currently equipped to test a variety of behaviors in mice, ranging from anxiety to sociability. These include social interaction, social novelty, social communication, general activity (including repetitive behaviors), anxiety (elevated-plus maze, open-field chamber, and dark/light box exploration), depression (force-swim test and tail-suspension test), cognitive task (novel object recognition, Y-maze, Pavlovian fear conditioning, etc), startle response (acoustic- or shock-induced), sucrose preference (anhedonia test), and others. All of the tests proposed have been reviewed and approved by the MUSC IACUC and are currently being used in Dr. Christopher Cowan’s laboratory to study different neurological disorders, including autism, drug addiction, and anxiety/depression.

Please consult with Rachel D. Penrod-Martin (penrodam@musc.edu) regarding experimental design, feasibility, and expected outcomes of proposed behavior test, as well as to reserve equipment and schedule training.

Fee Structure

All prices listed are for MUSC investigators.

• Studies and data analysis by staff: $60/hour
• Use of equipment/room: $20/hour
• Training by staff: $60/hour

Behavior Tests Available

Activity

• Detailed Locomotor Activity
• General Locomotor Activity

Social-Related

• 3-chamber Social Interaction Test
• Open Field Social Interaction Test
• Conditioned Place Preference
• Juvenile Vocalizations (USVs) – distress
• Adult Vocalizations (USVs) – social

Cognition

• Pavlovian Fear Conditioning
• Contextual Fear Conditioning
• Fear Potentiated Startle
• Y-maze
• Barnes Maze
• Novel Object Recognition (NOR)

Anxiety

• Elevated Plus Maze (EPM)
• Elevated O-Maze (EOM)
• Marble Burying
• Dark/Light Box Exploration
• Open Field Test

Depression

• Forced-Swim Test
• Tail-Suspension Test
• Sucrose Preference

Sensorimotor Analysis

• Pre-Pulse Inhibition (PPI)
• Shock Sensitivity
• Acoustic Startle