A modified light-dark box test for the common marmoset  

作　　者：Yiwen Wang Qin Fang Neng Gong 

机构地区：[1]School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiaotong University [2]Institute of Neuroscience and State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences ChineseAcademy of Sciences

出　　处：《Neuroscience Bulletin》2014年第3期394-400,共7页神经科学通报（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an SA-SIBS scholarship;the National Basic Research Development Program (973 Program) of China (2011CBA00400);the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB02020100)

摘　　要：The common marmoset （Callithrix jacchus） has attracted extensive attention for use as a non-human primate model in biomedical research, especially in the study of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, behavioral test methods are still limited in the field of marmoset research. The light-dark box is widely used for the evaluation of anxiety in rodents, but little is known about light-dark preference in marmosets. Here, we modified the light-dark test to study this behavior. The modified apparatus consisted of three compartments： one transparent open area and two closed opaque compartments. The closed compartments could be dark or light. We found that both adult and young marmosets liked to explore the open area, but the young animals showed more interest than adults. Furthermore, when one of the closed compartments was light and the other dark, the adult marmosets showed a preference for the dark compartment, but the young animals had no preference. These results suggest that the exploratory behavior and the light-dark preference in marmosets are age-dependent. Our study provides a new method to study exploration, anxiety, and fear in marmosets.The common marmoset （Callithrix jacchus） has attracted extensive attention for use as a non-human primate model in biomedical research, especially in the study of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, behavioral test methods are still limited in the field of marmoset research. The light-dark box is widely used for the evaluation of anxiety in rodents, but little is known about light-dark preference in marmosets. Here, we modified the light-dark test to study this behavior. The modified apparatus consisted of three compartments： one transparent open area and two closed opaque compartments. The closed compartments could be dark or light. We found that both adult and young marmosets liked to explore the open area, but the young animals showed more interest than adults. Furthermore, when one of the closed compartments was light and the other dark, the adult marmosets showed a preference for the dark compartment, but the young animals had no preference. These results suggest that the exploratory behavior and the light-dark preference in marmosets are age-dependent. Our study provides a new method to study exploration, anxiety, and fear in marmosets.

关 键 词：MARMOSET behavioral test light-dark box EXPLORATION ANXIETY 

分 类 号：R749.7[医药卫生—神经病学与精神病学]