Analyse des déplacements d’une souris dans un dispositif de test de la mémoire spatiale

Analysis of mouse movements in a spatial memory testing arena using trajectory analysis software. The movements and behaviour of the animal in the arena are monitored via camera and analysed using special software. During the test, the mouse is first placed in the arena with two identical objects so it can familiarise itself with them and learn their position. A striped visual pattern helps the mouse orient itself in the space, and the test environment does not receive direct light so as to avoid placing the animal under stress. After this first exploratory phase, the mouse is returned to the same arena one hour or several days later to test its short- or long-term memory. For this second session, one of the two objects is moved, introducing spatial novelty. However, the other object is not moved, making it the reference object. A mouse whose memory is intact will show greater interest in the object that has been moved, and will tend to explore it for longer than the reference object. In this way, the arena can be used to evaluate the mnesic capacities of different mouse lines and highlight memory problems, such as in Alzheimer's disease models, for example.