Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice
07:02

Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice

Published on: March 20, 2014

Genetic background differences and nonassociative effects in mouse trace fear conditioning.

Dani R Smith1, Michela Gallagher, Mark E Stanton

  • 1Neurogenetics and Behavior Center, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA. daniro@jhu.edu

Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)
|September 8, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Trace fear conditioning in mice requires careful protocol design to avoid nonassociative freezing. This study refined a protocol, revealing strain differences in fear conditioning performance.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Circadian Changes in CA1 LTP Are Driven by Shifts in Excitation-Inhibition Balance and Reverse Direction after Puberty in Mice.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2026
Same author

Parallel circadian-like oscillations in LTP and excitation inhibition balance in mouse CA1 reverse direction after puberty.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Altered NPTX2 dynamics associated with impaired cognitive aging.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

NPTX2 transfection improves synaptic E/I balance and performance in learning impaired aged rats.

Progress in neurobiology·2025
Same author

The HOPE4MCI study: AGB101 treatment slows progression of entorhinal cortex atrophy in <i>APOE</i> ε4 non-carriers with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.)·2025
Same author

Retraction Note: A specific amyloid-β protein assembly in the brain impairs memory.

Nature·2024

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Science
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Fear conditioning is a key behavioral paradigm for studying learning and memory in mice.
  • Trace fear conditioning relies on distinct neural circuits compared to delay conditioning.
  • Genetically modified mouse models are crucial for understanding fear memory mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate and refine trace fear conditioning protocols in mice.
  • To assess the impact of nonassociative effects on fear conditioning measures.
  • To identify strain-specific differences in fear conditioning performance.

Main Methods:

  • Comparison of three mouse strains (C57/BL6, 129/SvlmJ, F(1) hybrids) using trace fear conditioning.
  • Development and testing of a revised protocol to minimize nonassociative freezing.

More Related Videos

Contextual and Cued Fear Conditioning Test Using a Video Analyzing System in Mice
19:32

Contextual and Cued Fear Conditioning Test Using a Video Analyzing System in Mice

Published on: March 1, 2014

Modified Fear Conditioning for Inducing Flight Behaviors in Mice
04:03

Modified Fear Conditioning for Inducing Flight Behaviors in Mice

Published on: December 15, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice
07:02

Trace Fear Conditioning in Mice

Published on: March 20, 2014

Contextual and Cued Fear Conditioning Test Using a Video Analyzing System in Mice
19:32

Contextual and Cued Fear Conditioning Test Using a Video Analyzing System in Mice

Published on: March 1, 2014

Modified Fear Conditioning for Inducing Flight Behaviors in Mice
04:03

Modified Fear Conditioning for Inducing Flight Behaviors in Mice

Published on: December 15, 2023

  • Inclusion of unpaired control groups to quantify nonassociative learning.

    • Main Results:

    • Initial protocols showed significant nonassociative freezing, confounding associative learning measures.
    • A refined protocol successfully reduced nonassociative freezing across all strains.
    • C57/BL6 and F(1) hybrid mice exhibited associative trace fear conditioning, while 129/SvlmJ mice did not.
    • Significant strain differences were observed in both contextual and trace fear conditioning.

    Conclusions:

    • Careful control for nonassociative effects is critical in fear conditioning studies.
    • The refined protocol effectively minimizes nonassociative freezing, enabling reliable assessment of associative fear memory.
    • Mouse strain variability influences the efficacy of trace fear conditioning paradigms.