Neuropsychiatric sequelae of early nutritional modifications: a beginner's guide to behavioral analysis

Early parental nutritional interventions during prenatal development have been shown to result in neuropsychiatric sequelae in the adult offspring. In order to understand the impact of such nutritional interventions the behaviour of the animal has to be carefully analysed. This chapter provides a step-by-step guide to conducting behavioural tests in adult mice for investigators without specific expertise or those without the equipment to carry out behavioural studies. We focus on tests tapping into the main behavioural abnormalities that correspond to mental illnesses. We describe the materials required and the detailed methods to conduct global assessment of parameters such as behavioural integrity and general well-being, psychomotor activity, social behaviour, repetitive behaviour, anxiety-like behaviour, depression-like behaviour, short-term, spatial working memory, and spatial reference memory