DEVICE FOR STUDYING THE HIGHER NERVOUS ACTIVITY OF SMALL LABORATORY ANIMALS Russian patent published in 2022 - IPC A61B5/16 G09B23/28 

FIELD: experimental biology.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of experimental biology and can be used to study the state of the main functions of the higher nervous activity of small laboratory animals based on the results of their performance of instrumental skills. The device for studying the higher nervous activity of small laboratory animals contains a safe compartment and a starting compartment equipped with an electrified conductive floor connected to a current source and holes in the wall with a shutter with an adjustable diaphragm installed on each of the holes. In this case, the diameter of the through hole ensures the penetration of a small laboratory animal through it, and the diameter of the auxiliary holes is less than the diameter of the through hole. The starting compartment is located inside the safe compartment, the distance between the compartments is not less than the length of the body of a small laboratory animal, while the holes in the wall of the starting compartment are combined into identical groups containing one passage and at least two auxiliary holes, and the groups of holes themselves are evenly distributed along the perimeter of the wall of the launch compartment. The bioobject (small laboratory animal) is placed in the starting compartment, and the whole device is covered with a transparent cover from above. Next, the current is supplied from the source to the conductive electrified floor of the starting compartment, which forces the animal to leave it and move to a safe compartment. To do this, the animal searches for the nearest opening for leaving the group, which would be commensurate with the transverse dimensions of its body. At the same time, the test execution time and the number of erroneous attempts made by the biological object are recorded.

EFFECT: use of the device makes it possible to ensure that a biological object performs an unconditioned reflex of active avoidance, complicated by the need for visual differentiation of possible exit routes, which ultimately does not require prior training of the tested biological objects and increases the accuracy of the studies.

1 cl, 2 dwg