Knots: attractive places with high path tortuosity in mouse open field exploration.

ABSTRACT: When introduced into a novel environment, mammals establish in it a preferred place marked by the highest number of visits and highest cumulative time spent in it. Examination of exploratory behavior in reference to this "home base" highlights important features of its organization. It might therefore be fruitful to search for other types of marked places in mouse exploratory behavior and examine their influence on overall behavior.Examination of path curvatures of mice exploring a large empty arena revealed the presence of circumscribed locales marked by the performance of tortuous paths full of twists and turns. We term these places knots, and the behavior performed in them-knot-scribbling. There is typically no more than one knot per session; it has distinct boundaries and it is maintai

SUBMITTER: Dvorkin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2796396 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature