Do behavioral test scores represent repeatable phenotypes of female mice?

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Science
• Pharmacology

Background:

• The marble bury test is a standard behavioral assay for assessing compulsivity and anxiety in rodent models.
• It is frequently used in pharmaceutical screening and to investigate the neurobiology of these disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the repeatability of the marble bury test over extended periods (12 weeks) in a chronic context.
• To determine if marble burying scores represent a stable neurobiological phenotype in healthy animals.

Main Methods:

• Four trials of the marble bury test were conducted over 12 weeks.
• Three scoring methods were used: 100%, >50%, and >0% of marbles buried.
• Repeatability was assessed across trials and time intervals.

Main Results:

• Significant repeatability was found for marbles buried 100% and marbles buried >50% across the 12-week period.
• Pairwise repeatabilities were highest over shorter time intervals.
• Intertrial differences in mean marbles buried were observed.

Conclusions:

• The marble bury test demonstrates repeatability over longer durations, supporting its application in chronic condition research.
• Understanding repeatability patterns can optimize experimental design for long-term interventions.
• A pre-test/post-test design using this assay is feasible, potentially reducing animal numbers and maintaining statistical power.