Hi Rosie,

Our lab studies rat behavioural changes in relation to nociception and behavioural models of depression, anxiety & PTSD. We use a fully-automated Multi-Conditioning System from TSE that includes a 3D video-tracking analysis (therefore reduced recording bias), looking at a number of different behaviours, including rearing.

In our lab, rearing behaviour does not decrease after repetitive exposure to the same environment (arena) over time, which suggests a weaker link to an exploratory behaviour (not published yet). We believe that it is more linked to higher cognitive functions that are more likely to relate to vigilance than exploration (as suggested by an increase in rearing under pharmacologically-produced euphoric conditions). Also there is a lot of bibliography that links rearing behaviour to increased dopaminergic and GABAergic activity that is worth reading. 

Hi Rosie,

Rearing is a common measure of activity and exploratory behavior used in the open field and sometimes in certain mazes. Nothing else.

But I agree it could be related to very specific behaviors. I like the idea of escape.

-JP

You are right there isn't much about rearing behavior. I am not sure how escape works into it. Could you elaborate? If the behavior is not limited to the observation box, then vigilance seems more likely a relevant factor.

I'm not so sure about escape myself as they do also rear a lot in the centre of the arena, which to me suggests it is more to do with vigilance.

Interestingly, I have observed a sex difference - females consistently rear more than males, and a colleague who does my von Frey work always comments that the females are a lot more jumpy and responsive to smells.

Dear Rosie,

I like your comment, there seems to be a billion of open field protocols and we still tend to compare each others data no matter how tricky this is. I have experience of recording locomotion after methamphetamine acute dose and number rearings is definitely decreased by enhanced locomotion. I believe that we should always replicate the findings in more behavioural tests (e.g. elevated plus/zero maze if you go for anxiety levels for instance).

I have also repeatedly evaluated supposedly hyperactive response (increased locomotion) after olfactory bulbectomy model of depression. Usually we do not get the expercet outcome, instead the rats stay in a corner pointing their head into it. Totally abnormal behaviour in controls! It means the phenotype is there but we just fail to record it by our particular protocol.

Anyway good luck, I hope to find your published "rearing" protocol soon!

Yeah - the protocols vary so much! Light, timing, colour, shape, size...

I am using OF to detect behavioural changes relating to pain - we based our protocol on those purporting to detect anxiety, so have a low (12lux) light level, and record for 15min.

I think you're right that rearing is not tied to locomotion - interesting to hear your experiences! And I completely agree that multiple behavioural tests is key to getting a handle on what is happening - we use burrowing quite a bit, which is lovely as it is so ethological, the rats actually enjoy doing it, and it really works detecting pain-like behaviour in the models we've tested!

Rosie, find attached a table of protocol comparisons I prepared (angry when ours was not working :-). It is all aimed to detect locomotion increase in olfactory bulbectomy (OB, OBX) but maybe you will find it useful anyway.

J.

Thank-you very much! Not sure whether this line of thought is going to lead to something more than a couple of paragraphs in a discussion, but I personally find it fascinating :)

This is very interesting as I was looking myself for the exact definition of rearing! My control rats never stood on their hind limbs! Instead they stood many times with their forelimbs leaned on the wall of the OF arena! So would I count this as rearing or not????

I count it as rearing :)

If you can, use something like stopclock+ so you can differentiate the 2 as I feel they represent subtly different behaviours, perhaps with supporting being more escape-related and un-supporting being more surveillance-related?

Nothing is more nauseating than interpretation of the behavioral activities and/or correlation them to diseases or drug effects. From my experience:

1-If you are measuring motor activiteis Rearing is one. It is mostly related to striatal activities, and stereotypic effectors.  Also lesion of SNr could dcrease Rearing. Not the striatal activity also increases horizontal locomotio. But the latter is mostly increased by dopaminerjics injected into mesolimbic path including nuc. accumbens.

2-I the aim point is anxiety then Rearing is a novelty inquiry. could be increased with anxiolytics

i dont know if this will help you or not but it helped me alot to interpret rearing

Rearing on Hind Legs, Environmental Novelty,

and the Hippocampal Formation

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/7077564

Article Rearing on Hind Legs, Environmental Novelty, and the Hippoca...

Hi Rosie,

Our lab studies rat behavioural changes in relation to nociception and behavioural models of depression, anxiety & PTSD. We use a fully-automated Multi-Conditioning System from TSE that includes a 3D video-tracking analysis (therefore reduced recording bias), looking at a number of different behaviours, including rearing.

In our lab, rearing behaviour does not decrease after repetitive exposure to the same environment (arena) over time, which suggests a weaker link to an exploratory behaviour (not published yet). We believe that it is more linked to higher cognitive functions that are more likely to relate to vigilance than exploration (as suggested by an increase in rearing under pharmacologically-produced euphoric conditions). Also there is a lot of bibliography that links rearing behaviour to increased dopaminergic and GABAergic activity that is worth reading. 

Hello,

I have similar question to that of Rosie, and also: does anyone know how grooming behavior can be interpreted?

I need to distinguish between grooming and rearing behavior in mice.

Hi Rose and others, this questions disturb me yet. There are relation between rearing and anxiety? I have found conflit in papers about this tema. Can someone help us?

Can you tell us which rearing threshold it is best to choose for aged rats (20 months) ?

This review is all about rearing and distinguishes between rearing due to anxiety and due to spatial novelty.

Hope it’s useful. Colin.

Rearing in mice, one of 30 open-field behaviors:

I think Rearing is more related to exploration, that motricity or anxiety.