WO2023065498A1

WO2023065498A1 - Behavioral experimental apparatus capable of adjusting the intensity of visual threatening stimulus

Info

Publication number: WO2023065498A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/137643
Authority: WO
Inventors: 徐阳; 黄康; 王枫; 王立平
Original assignee: 中国科学院深圳先进技术研究院
Priority date: 2021-10-18
Filing date: 2021-12-14
Publication date: 2023-04-27
Also published as: CN113875617A

Abstract

A behavioral experimental apparatus capable of adjusting the intensity of visual threatening stimulation. The behavioral experimental apparatus capable of adjusting the intensity of visual dangerous stimulation comprises a box body (1), an environment box (2), a telescopic mechanism (3), and a display screen (4). The environment box (2) is located in the box body (1) and has an open upper end. One end of the telescopic mechanism (3) is connected to the top wall of the box body (1), the display screen (4) is rotatably connected to the other end of the telescopic mechanism (3), and the display screen (4) is located above the environment box (2).

Description

Behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli

This application claims the priority of a Chinese patent application with application number 202111208679.X filed with the China Patent Office on October 18, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

technical field

The present application relates to the technical field of behavioral experiments, for example, to a behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli.

Background technique

The emotion of fear is one of the most basic and indispensable emotional representations. Fear emotion is crucial to perceive potential danger information in the external environment, avoid natural enemies, and make rapid defense responses, and it is the primary and necessary emotion to maintain species reproduction and survival. Clues that cause instinctive fear behavior generally come from natural enemies, aggressive peers, painful stimuli, etc. Compared with the sense of smell, touch, and proprioception, the visual system has faster and more efficient advantages in defending against natural enemies, and shows strong cross-species conservation. Therefore, analyzing the neurobiological mechanism of visually-evoked instinctive fear behavior is a research hotspot in the field of neuroscience in recent years.

Rodents responding to the stimuli of approaching shadows from the upper visual field develop a freeze-like behavior when there is nowhere to escape, and preferentially flee when there is a nest. A technical approach to study visual phobic behavior is to induce visual phobic behavior in rodents by simulating an approaching shadow stimulus from the sky. The behavioral equipment used is composed of two parts: one part is used as the mouse's exploration activity area, and the other part is used as the mouse's safe activity area. An LCD screen is placed on top of the device to present the stimuli.

However, in the process of actual construction and use, the behavioral experimental device in the related art has the following shortcomings:

First, in the preliminary construction process of the behavioral experimental device, it is necessary to constantly try the influence of the liquid crystal display on the stimulus response of mice at different heights. This process needs to be tested in combination with theoretical calculation values and experience. In the actual operation process, the experimenter needs to manually lift the display screen for testing. Due to the size and weight of the liquid crystal display screen, it is very difficult to control the height and level of the display screen during the manual adjustment process. It can be seen that the available behavioral experimental devices are very complicated in the process of device construction.

Second, from the perspective of researchers, the influence of different factors needs to be considered to explore the neural circuit mechanism of visual hazard stimuli, but the available behavioral experimental devices keep the intensity of visual stimuli at a fixed value. This limits the researchers, who will lack an environmental variable to explore the neural circuit mechanism of rodent visual instinctive fear behavior.

Contents of the invention

The embodiment of the present application discloses a behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli, including: a box body; an environmental box, the environmental box is located in the box, and the upper end of the environmental box is opened; a telescopic mechanism , one end of the telescopic mechanism is connected to the top wall of the box; a display screen, the display screen is rotatably connected to the other end of the telescopic mechanism, and the display screen is located on the top wall of the environmental box above.

Additional aspects and advantages of the application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the application.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual danger stimuli according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is the structural schematic diagram of the environmental chamber of the behavioral experiment device of the adjustable visual danger stimulus intensity of the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of the retractable mechanism of the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli according to the embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the universal lock of the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual danger stimuli according to the embodiment of the present application.

Reference signs:

1. Box body;

2. Environmental chamber; 21. Open field; 22. Den;

3. Telescopic mechanism; 31. Mounting plate; 32. Telescopic assembly; 321. Cross bar;

4. Display screen;

5, universal lock; 51, rotating seat; 511, rotating ball groove; 52, rotating ball; 53, locking member; 54, fixed seat.

Detailed ways

The technical solution of the present application will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and through specific implementation methods.

In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", " Back", "Left", "Right", "Vertical", "Horizontal", "Top", "Bottom", "Inner", "Outer", "Clockwise", "Counterclockwise", "Axial" , "radial", "circumferential" and other indicated orientations or positional relationships are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying the referred device or Elements must have certain orientations, be constructed and operate in certain orientations, and thus should not be construed as limiting the application.

In addition, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of these features, which are used to describe the features differently, without order or importance. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

In the description of this application, it should be noted that unless otherwise specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connection", and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection or a detachable connection. Connected, or integrally connected; it can be mechanically connected or electrically connected; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediary, and it can be the internal communication of two components. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this application in combination with specific situations.

The following describes the specific structure of the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual danger stimuli according to the embodiment of the present application with reference to FIGS. 1-4 .

The embodiment of the present application discloses a behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli. The box 2 is located in the box body 1, and the upper end is opened, and one end of the telescopic mechanism 3 is connected to the top wall of the box body 1, and the display screen 4 is rotatably connected to the other end of the telescopic mechanism 3, and the display screen 4 is located in the environment. Box 2 above.

It can be understood that, in actual use, since the display screen 4 is rotatably connected to the telescopic mechanism 3, the height and deflection angle of the display screen 4 can be adjusted by adjusting the length of the telescopic mechanism 3 and rotating the display screen 4, It can conveniently change the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli, save the time of setting up the device in the early stage of the experiment, improve the accuracy of parameter calibration, and provide a basis for researchers to explore the influence of different visual dangerous stimulus intensities on the instinctive fear behavior of rodents. conditions to meet more experimental needs.

In some embodiments, the environmental box 2 includes an open field part 21 and a pocket part 22 , and one end of the pocket part 22 is communicated with the open field part 21 . It can be understood that, in the actual experimental process, the part of the display screen 4 facing the open field part 21 can display patterns to form a visually dangerous stimulus to the experimental animals, and the nest part 22 provides a safe area for the experimental animals, so that in the experimental process The stress response of experimental animals in the situation of visual danger stimuli can be observed very clearly. In the embodiment of the present application, the shapes of the open field portion 21 and the dimple portion 22 can be selected according to actual needs, and no specific limitation is made on the shapes of the open field portion 21 and the dimple portion 22 here.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 , the telescopic mechanism 3 includes a mounting plate 31 and a telescopic assembly 32, the mounting plates 31 are two oppositely arranged ones, and one mounting plate 31 of the two mounting plates 31 is connected to the body of the box body 1. The top wall is connected, the other of the two mounting plates 31 is connected to the display screen 4 in rotation, and the two ends of the telescopic assembly 32 are respectively connected to the two mounting plates 31 . It can be understood that the telescopic assembly 32 ensures that the display screen 4 can be lifted up and down stably during actual use, and the mounting plate 31 ensures the stability of the connection between the telescopic assembly 32 and the box body 1 and the display screen 4, avoiding the display screen 4. The drop phenomenon occurs.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 , the telescopic assembly 32 includes a plurality of rotatably connected cross bars 321 , each of which includes two rotatably connected rods. It can be understood that, since the telescopic assembly 32 includes a plurality of rotatably connected cross bars 321, the entire telescopic assembly 32 is formed as a scissor-type telescopic frame, which is a very stable telescopic mechanism 3 composed of a parallel four-bar linkage mechanism , using the length change of the parallelogram diagonals to achieve stretching. The biggest advantage of this structure is that it takes up little space after being folded, and has a large stroke after unfolding, so that the display screen 4 has a large lifting stroke, making the display screen 4 of this embodiment The behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli can adapt to the behavioral experiments of more experimental animals, and improves the compatibility of the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli.

In some embodiments, the rods (such as the cross rod 321 ) are stainless steel rods. The strength of the stainless steel rod is better, and the use of the stainless steel rod as the rod can increase the strength of the telescopic assembly 32 , thereby improving the stability of the display screen 4 . In other embodiments of the present application, the material of the rod can be selected according to actual needs, and is not limited to stainless steel.

In some embodiments, there are multiple telescopic assemblies 32 , and the multiple telescopic assemblies 32 are arranged at intervals along the length direction of the installation plate 31 . It can be understood that, when the volume of the display screen 4 is relatively large, using a telescopic assembly 32 to support the display screen 4 may easily cause the display screen 4 to fall. In this embodiment, the telescopic assembly 32 is along the length direction of the mounting plate 31 ( Can refer to the longitudinal direction L) in Fig. 3 to be provided with a plurality of, can support the display screen 4 more stably like this, avoid the phenomenon that the display screen 4 falls, improved the use reliability of the behavioral experiment device that can adjust the visual danger stimulus intensity .

The number of telescopic components 32 can be selected according to actual needs, and the specific number of telescopic components 32 is not limited here.

What is additionally added here is that in other embodiments of the present application, the telescopic assembly 32 can also be directly formed as a telescopic rod or other telescopic structures, that is to say, the telescopic assembly 32 is not limited to the above-mentioned limitation.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 , the display screen 4 is connected to the end of the telescopic mechanism 3 away from the top wall of the box body 1 through a universal lock 5 . It can be understood that the universal lock 5 is used to install the display screen 4 on the telescopic mechanism 3, which can make the display screen 4 rotate relative to the telescopic mechanism 3 very conveniently, so that it is convenient for the operator to adjust the level of the display screen 4 in the experiment preparation stage. This makes the use of the entire behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli very convenient, and improves user satisfaction.

In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 4, the universal lock 5 includes a rotating seat 51, a rotating ball 52 and a locking member 53, the rotating seat 51 is provided with a rotating ball groove 511, and the rotating seat 51 is connected to the telescopic mechanism 3 Above, the rotating ball 52 is rotatably fitted in the rotating ball groove 511 and connected to the display screen 4 , and the locking member 53 is passed through the rotating seat 51 and is used for locking the rotating ball 52 . It can be understood that, in the actual operation process, since the rotating ball 52 is connected to the display screen 4, when the display screen 4 is rotated, the rotating ball 52 can rotate in the rotating ball groove 511, so that the display screen 4 can rotate relative to the telescopic mechanism 3. turn. As a result, the operator can easily rotate the display screen 4 to adjust the levelness during the experiment preparation stage and the experiment execution stage. In order to avoid accidental rotation of the display screen 4 after the adjustment is completed, the universal lock 5 of this embodiment adds a locking member 53 for locking the rotating ball 52. In the actual operation process, the angle of the display screen 4 needs to be adjusted When the locking member 53 is released to release the rotating ball 52, the operator can rotate the display screen 4. After the adjustment is completed, tighten the locking member 53 to lock the rotating ball 52. The rotating ball 52 cannot rotate in the rotating ball groove 511, so that the display screen 4 is fixed at the adjustment position, and the phenomenon of accidental rotation of the display screen 4 is avoided.

In some embodiments, the locking member 53 may belong to a screw indentation, and the rotating ball 52 is locked by turning the screw.

In some embodiments, the universal lock 5 further includes two fixing seats 54, and two opposite side walls of one fixing seat 54 of the two fixing seats 54 are respectively connected to the rotating ball 52 and the display screen 4, Two opposite side walls of the other fixed seat 54 of the two fixed seats 54 are respectively connected to the rotating seat 51 and the telescoping mechanism 3 . It can be understood that the use of the fixed seat 54 to fix the universal lock 5 between the display screen 4 and the telescopic mechanism 3 can ensure the stability and reliability of the connection between the universal lock 5 and the rotating seat 51 and the telescopic mechanism 3 . Therefore, it is ensured that the display screen 4 can stably rotate relative to the telescopic mechanism 3 .

It is additionally explained here that in other embodiments of the application, the rotating structure of the telescopic mechanism 3 and the display screen 4 can also be other structures such as plane hinges, that is to say, in the embodiments of the application, the rotation structure of the display screen 4 The rotation angle is not limited to 360°, and can also be other degrees, which can be selected according to actual needs.

In some embodiments, the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual danger stimuli also includes a horizontal fixed rod (not shown), one end of the horizontal fixed rod is connected to the display screen 4, and the other end is detachably arranged on the box body 1. on the side wall. It can be understood that when the weight of the display screen 4 is too large, it cannot be well supported only by the telescopic mechanism 3. In this embodiment, the additional horizontal fixing bar can assist the display screen 4 to prevent the display screen 4 from falling. The falling phenomenon occurs. In addition, in order to avoid the negative influence of the horizontal fixed rod on the rotation of the display screen 4, one end of the horizontal fixed rod is detachably arranged on the side wall of the box body 1. When the angle of the display screen 4 needs to be adjusted, one end of the horizontal fixed rod Disassemble from the side wall of the box body 1, and then install the horizontal fixing rod on the box body 1 after the adjustment is completed.

It should be noted here that the horizontal fixing rod and the side wall of the box body 1 can be detachably connected by a buckle structure, or can be connected by a connection structure such as a screw, which can be selected according to actual needs.

In some embodiments, 4 horizontal fixing rods can be set, 2 horizontal fixing rods are connected to the

display

4 , and 2 horizontal fixing rods are connected to the side wall of the box body 1 .

In some embodiments, the horizontal fixing rod can be implemented as adding two horizontal rods to the upper and lower horizontal rods of the scissor type telescopic frame to fix with its vertical rod.

In some embodiments, the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of the visual danger stimulus further includes a driver (not shown in the figure), the driver is connected to the box body 1 , and the output end of the driver is connected to the display screen 4 . Therefore, when the display screen 4 is actually adjusted, it is only necessary to start the driving part, and no operator is required to operate the retractable mechanism 3, which further simplifies the operation process of the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual danger stimuli, and improves user satisfaction .

It is additionally explained here that, in the embodiment of the present application, the driving member may choose a structure such as an electric push rod or a cylinder according to actual needs, and the type of the driving member is not limited here. In addition, in order to ensure that the display screen 4 can be lifted up and down stably, there may be multiple driving parts.

In some embodiments, the driving member is automatically driven, for example, implemented by means of motor control.

Example:

The following describes the structure of a behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual danger stimuli according to a specific embodiment of the present application with reference to FIGS. 1-4 .

As shown in Figure 1, the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual danger stimuli includes a box body 1, an environment box 2, a telescopic mechanism 3, a display screen 4 and a universal lock 5, and the environment box 2 is located in the box body 1, And the upper end is opened and set. As shown in FIG. 2 , the environmental chamber 2 includes an open field part 21 and a pocket part 22 , and one end of the pocket part 22 is communicated with the open field part 21 . The open field part 21 has a circular cross section with a diameter of 500 mm, and the pocket part 22 has a rectangular cross section with a length of 500 mm and a width of 100 mm. The height of the entire environmental chamber 2 is 300 mm.

As shown in Figure 3, the telescopic mechanism 3 comprises a mounting plate 31 and two telescopic assemblies 32, the mounting plates 31 are two oppositely arranged, and one mounting plate 31 in the two mounting plates (31) is connected with the top wall of the casing 1 The other mounting plate 31 in the two mounting plates (31) is connected to the display screen 4 through the universal lock 5, and the two telescopic assemblies 32 are arranged at intervals along the length direction of the mounting plate 31, and each telescopic assembly 32 The two ends are respectively connected with two mounting plates 31 . Each telescopic assembly 32 includes two rotatably connected cross bars 321 , and each cross bar 321 includes two rotatably connected rods.

As shown in Figure 4, the universal lock 5 includes a rotating seat 51, a rotating ball 52, a locking member 53 and two fixed seats 54, the rotating seat 51 is provided with a rotating ball groove 511, and the rotating ball 52 is rotatably fitted in the In the rotating ball groove 511 , the locking member 53 is passed through the rotating seat 51 and used for locking the rotating ball 52 . Two opposite side walls of a fixed seat 54 in the two fixed seats (54) are respectively connected on the rotating seat 51 and the display screen 4, and the opposite arrangement of the other fixed seat 54 in the two fixed seats (54) The two sidewalls are connected to the rotating ball 52 and the telescoping mechanism 3 respectively.

The experimental process of the behavioral experimental device of the embodiment of the present application that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli is as follows: the experimental process is to allow mice to freely explore in the environmental chamber 2 for 5 minutes to adapt to the experimental environment. During this time, even if the mouse enters the open field section 21, no stimulus is triggered. After 5 minutes, the mouse enters the open field part 21, and the display screen 4 can be controlled to trigger the visual dangerous stimulus. After the visual hazard was triggered, the mice had to wait for a 3-min interstimulus phase. Also, during this time, even if the mouse enters the open-field section 21, no stimulus is triggered. After 3 minutes, the visual hazard stimulus can be triggered again. This process was repeated when the mouse was triggered 5 visual hazard stimuli, or the training or testing process reached 20 minutes or 30 minutes respectively, the process ended.

Experimental results show that when visually dangerous stimuli suddenly appear, almost all mice will have an escape response and quickly escape back to the den22.

The advantages of the behavioral experimental device of the present embodiment that can adjust the intensity of visual danger stimulus are as follows:

First: use the telescopic assembly 32 of the scissor structure to adjust the position of the crystal display screen 4, reducing the space and time occupied by building the experimental facility from the source, making the behavioral experimental device easy to operate and highly practical;

Second, the telescopic assembly 32 of the scissor structure and the universal lock 5 can change the height and angle of the display screen 4 given to the visual danger stimulus to change the intensity of the visual danger stimulus. It provides a basis for the impact on the instinctive fear behavior of rodents, reduces the operational burden of researchers, and provides conditions for researchers to explore the influence of different visual danger stimulus intensities on the instinctive fear behavior of rodents, meeting more experimental needs .

It should be added that the experimental objects of the behavioral experimental device of this embodiment that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli are not limited to experiments on rodents such as mice and rats. In fact, it can also be used for other small animals such as lizards and pigeons. For the visual hazard stimulation experiment of model animals, it is only necessary to design telescopic mechanisms 3 and universal locks 5 of different sizes according to different requirements.

The effective effect of the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli disclosed in the embodiment of the application is: since the display screen is rotatably connected to the telescopic mechanism, the height and deflection angle of the display screen can be adjusted by adjusting the length of the telescopic mechanism and Turning the display screen to make adjustments can easily change the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli, which saves the time of setting up the device in the early stage of the experiment, improves the accuracy of parameter calibration, and at the same time allows researchers to explore the effects of different visual dangerous stimulus intensities on rodent instincts. The effect of fear behavior provides conditions that meet more experimental needs.

In the description of this specification, descriptions with reference to the terms "some embodiments", "other embodiments", etc. mean that specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in connection with the embodiments or examples are included in at least one implementation of the present application. example or examples. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

For those of ordinary skill in the art, according to the concept of the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation and application scope, and the content of this specification should not be construed as limiting the application.

Claims

A behavioral experimental device capable of adjusting the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli, comprising:

box (1);

An environmental box (2), the environmental box (2) is located in the box (1), and the upper end of the environmental box (2) is opened;

A telescopic mechanism (3), one end of the telescopic mechanism (3) is connected to the top wall of the box (1);

A display screen (4), the display screen (4) is rotatably connected to the other end of the telescopic mechanism (3), and the display screen (4) is located above the environmental box (2).
The behavioral experimental device capable of adjusting the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli according to claim 1, wherein the environmental box (2) comprises an open field part (21) and a pocket part (22), and the pocket part (22 ) is communicated with the open field part (21).
The behavioral experimental device with adjustable visual danger stimulus intensity according to claim 1, wherein the telescopic mechanism (3) comprises:

The mounting plate (31), the mounting plate (31) is two oppositely arranged, and one of the mounting plates (31) in the two mounting plates (31) is connected to the top wall of the box body (1), The other of the two mounting plates (31) is rotatably connected to the display screen (4);

A telescopic assembly (32), the two ends of the telescopic assembly (32) are respectively connected to the two installation plates (31).
According to claim 3, the behavioral experiment device with adjustable visual danger stimulus intensity, wherein, the telescopic assembly (32) comprises a plurality of cross bars (321) connected in rotation, and each of the cross bars (321) includes Two pivotally connected rods.
The behavioral experimental device with adjustable visual danger stimulus intensity according to claim 3, wherein there are a plurality of said telescopic assemblies (32), and a plurality of said telescopic assemblies (32) are arranged along the Length direction interval setting.
The behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual danger stimulation according to claim 1, wherein the display screen (4) is connected to the telescopic mechanism (3) away from the box through a universal lock (5) (1) On one end of the top wall.
The behavioral experimental device with adjustable visual danger stimulus intensity according to claim 6, wherein the universal lock (5) comprises:

A rotating seat (51), the rotating seat (51) is provided with a rotating ball groove (511), and the rotating seat (51) is connected to the telescopic mechanism (3);

a rotating ball (52), the rotating ball (52) is rotatably fitted in the rotating ball groove (511) and connected to the display screen (4);

A locking piece (53), the locking piece (53) is installed on the rotating seat (51) and is used for locking the rotating ball (52).
The behavioral experimental device with adjustable visual danger stimulus intensity according to claim 7, wherein the universal lock (5) also includes two fixed seats (54), one of the two fixed seats (54) The opposite two side walls of the fixed seat (54) are respectively connected to the rotating ball (52) and the display screen (4), and the other fixed seat in the two fixed seats (54) The two opposite side walls of (54) are respectively connected to the rotating seat (51) and the telescoping mechanism (3).
According to the behavioral experiment device of any one of claims 1-8, which can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimulation, the behavioral experimental device of adjustable visual dangerous stimulus intensity also includes a horizontal fixed rod, and the horizontal fixed rod One end is connected with the display screen (4), and the other end of the horizontal fixing rod is detachably arranged on the side wall of the box body (1).
According to any one of claims 1-8, the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual danger stimuli, the behavioral experimental device that can adjust the intensity of visual dangerous stimuli also includes a driving member, and the driving member is connected to the On the box body (1), the output end of the driver is connected to the display screen (4).