Application of t-pattern analysis in the study of rodent behavior: Methodological and experimental highlights

In our laboratories we use T-pattern analysis to study rat behavior in different and well-known experimental assays widely employed as rodent models of anxiety: the open \ufb01eld, the hole board and the elevated plus maze. By using Theme software and T-pattern analysis, we have observed that numerous events, characterizing rodent behavior in each experimental model, occurred sequentially and with signi\ufb01cant constraints on the interval lengths separating them. In this chapter, for each test, we highlight some key aspects of our behavioral analyses, with a twofold attempt: \ufb01rst to provide the researcher with useful information concerning the application of T-pattern analysis in the study of rodent behavior and, second, to present and discuss various results of our studies