Danger perception and cautious behavior of mice in an elevated board task / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the cautious behaviors of mice under dangerous conditions caused by height. Methods An elevated beard task was designed,in which the mice were employed to get through a horizontally elevated beard. The time of getting through and number of looking-aside behaviors were recorded under different experimental conditions with different elevated height and visual cues. Results The mean time of getting through the elevated board with a height of 60cm was significantly longer than that of 15cm [(22.55±14.64)s Vs (12.16±8.67)s, P<0.05]. The number of looking-aside behaviors decreased from (2.95±1.73) to (1.95± 1.27) , P <0.05 ,when the visual cues on potential danger were controlled. Conclusion The cautious behaviors increase with the height of elevated board and decrease when controlling for the visual cues on potential danger, which indicate a trade-off relationship between the perceived danger and cautious behaviors.