Hi Everyone!
I'm studying a new genetic deletion rat model (Sprague-Dawley background) and we are looking to test them in Fear Conditioning. I'm used to working with mice so this is a bit new for me.
I see SO MANY different protocols out there testing CS-US pairings followed by contextual and cued tests (either 24 or 48 hours later). Is it better to look at something like extinction in the rat rather than a single context/cued test? How many shocks do they need? I see anywhere from 2 (like I'm used to with mice) up to 5. Also the mA shock intensity and tone frequency/dB varies greatly.
We don't have a whole lot of animals to just start testing which protocol would be best. We've already discovered how different rats are in neurobehavior compared to mice (they are smart!).
Hi Melinda,
Instead of using shock, it would interesting to try a more naturalistic stimuli such as larger aggressive male or exposure to a ferret or fox scent.