Dr. Flint's Laboratory is equipped with an array of equipment for performing neurosurgery on both adult and neonatal rats. Equipment includes a surgical microscope, Kopf stereotaxic apparatus, electrolytic lesion maker, warming blanket and digital thermometer, microinjection carrier, Hamilton syringes, rat brain tissue block for gross sectioning, and a wide variety of surgical instruments. The Department of Biology is equipped with a tissue microtome for histology.

There are two fully computer automated conditioning chambers (Med Associates). Each chamber is equpped with a light stimulus, operant lever, sound attenuating cubicle, water dipper for reinforcement, and grid floor capable of administering mild footshock. These chambers may be used for a variety of operant conditioning schedules, extinction, and step-down passive-avoidance fear conditioning.

The Lab is equipped with 6 two-bottle conditioned taste-aversion chambers with 100 ml graduated test bottles. Taste aversion training is a common means of studying classical conditioning in rodents. Animals are exposed to a novel flavor (CS) followed by an injection of an illness-inducing agent (US) such as LiCl or lipopolysaccharide. This protocol is used in Dr. Flint's Lab to investigate basic learning processes and the relationships between learning and the immune system (psychoneuroimmunology).

Conditioned Taste Aversion Database

The T-Maze is commonly used as a test of spatial working memory. Animals are placed into the apparatus and allowed to freely explore it for a specified period of time. Those with good spatial working memory will commonly enter each of the three alleys before re-entering a previously visited alley. A 16-day-old infant rat is shown in the picture in a T-Maze that has been scaled down to adjust for the animal's immature size. Tasks such as the T-Maze are used in Dr. Flint's Lab to investigate developmental changes in memory.

Hughes, R.N. (2004). The value of spontaneous alternation behavior as a test of retention in pharmacological investigations of memory. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 28, 497-505.

Lalonde, R. (2002). The neurobiological basis of spontaneous alternation. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 26, 91-104.

The Open Field apparatus may be used for a variety of different purposes. In general, animal's behavior is coded for activity level and stereotypical behaviors. This task can be used to examine the effects of stimulant drugs (e.g., amphetamine) and to examine the effects of immunostimulants as a model of sickness behavior. The open field is also used to examine habituation of environmental exploration.

The Elevated Plus Maze is used as a standard test of anxiety in rats. Animals are placed into the apparatus and measures such as open/closed arm entries, open/closed arm time, and ethological behaviors are recorded.

The Morris Water Maze is a standard test of spatial learning and memory. Animals are placed into a large tank of opaque water which is divided into four imaginary quadrants. Within one quadrant is an escape platform that is submerged just beneath the surface of the water. Animals learn to find the platform and escape using extra-maze cues in the environment around the tank.

D'Hooge, R. & De Deyn, P.P. (2001). Applications of the Morris water maze in the study of learning and memory. Brain Research Reviews, 36, 60-90.

The Any Maze flexible video tracking system from Stoelting is used in Dr. Flint's lab to track an animal's behavior on tasks such as the T-Maze, Open Field, and Water Maze. This system records the animal's behavior through a digital camera connected to a computer which is capable of reporting more than 100 different dependent measures including distance traveled, latency to escape platform, number of rearings, number of alley entries, and time in each alley.