Visual-looming Shadow Task with in-vivo Calcium Activity Monitoring to Assess Defensive Behaviors in Mice

Núria Daviu; Tamás Füzesi; David G Rosenegger; Govind Peringod; Kathryn Simone; Jaideep S Bains

doi:10.21769/BioProtoc.3826

Visual-looming Shadow Task with in-vivo Calcium Activity Monitoring to Assess Defensive Behaviors in Mice

Bio Protoc. 2020 Nov 20;10(22):e3826. doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.3826.

Authors

Núria Daviu¹, Tamás Füzesi^{1

2}, David G Rosenegger¹, Govind Peringod^{1

1}, Kathryn Simone¹, Jaideep S Bains¹

Affiliations

¹ Hotchkiss Brain Institute & Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
² CSM Optogenetics Core Facility, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.

Abstract

There has been a clear movement in recent years towards the adoption of more naturalistic experimental regimes for the study of behavior and its underlying neural architecture. Here we provide a protocol that allows experimenters working with mice, to mimic a looming and advancing predatory threat from the sky. This approach is easy to implement and can be combined with sophisticated neural recordings that allow access to real-time activity during behavior. This approach offers another option in a battery of tests that allow for a more comprehensive understanding of defensive behaviors.

Keywords: Defensive behaviors; Escape; Fiber photometry; In-vivo calcium activity; Visual-looming.