Behavioral Laboratory

There are two behavioral labs at the Department. The research focuses on sexual behaviour, stress and anhedonia models of depression in laboratory rodents.

• Behavioral laboratory I
• Behavioral laboratory II

The behavioral  Laboratory  I

Lab is equipped with a surveillance Noldus system and ultrasound Metris (Sonotrack) system for recording of ultrasounds emitted by small rodents, which allow a complex analysis of behavior. Currently, most of the research carried out in the lab is dedicated to the analysis of ultrasound emission during sexual behavior in male rats.

The Behavioral Laboratory II

The experiments carried out in the lab involve induction of acute stress, chronic stress and animal model of depression as well as evaluation of basic metabolic parameters. The chronic stress and anhedonia in animals, which is the model of human depression, is produced in a dedicated room with equipment used to apply different forms of stressful stimuli over extended periods of time.
The quantitative evaluation of food and water intake, excretion of urine and feces, as well as collection urine samples for further evaluation is implemented by means of metabolic cages.