Home › Cell Biology › Long-term Sensory Conflict in Freely Behaving Mice
Cell Biology JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Long-term Sensory Conflict in Freely Behaving Mice

DOI: 10.3791/59135-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Perform headpost implantation surgery and device fixation in mice
  • ✓ Establish persistent sensory conflict via visual-vestibular mismatch
  • ✓ Conduct video-oculography to quantify long-term learning responses
  • ✓ Analyze freely behaving mouse behavior under sustained sensory conflict
Protocol

The presented protocol produces a persistent sensory conflict for experiments aimed at studying long-term learning. By permanently wearing a fixed device on their heads, mice are continuously exposed to a sensory mismatch between visual and vestibular inputs while freely moving in home cages.

Difficulty
advanced
Total time
~3-4 weeks per mouse (including surgery recovery, habituation, and longitudinal recording sessions)
Model organism
Mouse (strain not specified)

Steps

1
Perform headpost implantation surgery on mice

Surgically implant a fixed headpost device onto the mouse skull to enable long-term device attachment. This is a stereotaxic procedure requiring anesthesia and aseptic technique.

▶ 00:28
2
Attach sensory conflict device to headpost

Secure the optical/vestibular conflict apparatus to the implanted headpost, ensuring stable fixation while allowing free movement in home cages.

▶ 02:02
3
Conduct video-oculography recording sessions

Perform non-invasive eye-tracking recordings to capture oculomotor responses and adaptation to sensory conflict across multiple sessions.

▶ 03:21
4
Analyze long-term sensory conflict behavioral data

Quantify learning trajectories and adaptive responses from longitudinal oculography and behavioral recordings in freely moving mice.

▶ 04:44
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