Nestlet Shredding and Nest Building Tests to Assess Features of Psychiatric Disorders in Mice

Mimicking the various facets of human psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders in animal models is a challenging task. Nevertheless, mice have emerged as a widely used model system to study pathophysiology and treatment strategies for these diseases. However, the corresponding behavioral tests a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bio-protocol 2020-12, Vol.10 (24)
Main Authors: Dorninger, Fabian, Zeitler, Gerhard, Berger, Johannes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biology
Methods
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Mimicking the various facets of human psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders in animal models is a challenging task. Nevertheless, mice have emerged as a widely used model system to study pathophysiology and treatment strategies for these diseases. However, the corresponding behavioral tests are often elaborate and require extensive experience in behavioral testing. Here, we present protocols for two simple assays, nest building and nestlet shredding, that can serve as a starting point for the behavioral phenotyping of mouse models with (potential) features of psychiatric disorders. Both tests have been reported previously and we extend prior descriptions by including adaptations and refinements derived from our practical experience, like the use of the home cage instead of a fresh cage for nestlet shredding. Summarized, we provide ready-to-use protocols for two behavioral assays that allow the generation of robust data with minimal time and cost expenditure and enable an initial assessment of features of psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorders in mouse models of these diseases.
ISSN:2331-8325
2331-8325
DOI:10.21769/BioProtoc.3863