Methods for Studying Habitual Behavior in Mice

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Abstract
Table of Contents
Materials
Figures
Literature Cited

Abstract

Habit formation refers to the process by which goal?directed behavior becomes automatized and less sensitive to changes in the value of the goal. It has clear relevance for our understanding of skill learning and addiction. Recent studies have begun to reveal the neural substrates underlying this process. This unit summarizes what is known about the experimental methods used, and provides a protocol for generating and assessing habit formation in mice. Curr. Protoc. Neurosci. 60:8.29.1?8.29.9. © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Keywords: operant; habit; instrumental conditioning; action selection; mouse behavior

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Introduction
Basic Protocol 1: Generating Habitual Operant Responding in Mice
Alternate Protocol 1: Alternative Devaluation Method Using Lithium Chloride Injection (3 Days)
Commentary
Literature Cited
Figures

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Materials

Basic Protocol 1: Generating Habitual Operant Responding in Mice

Materials

Mice: e.g., C57BL/6J from Jackson Laboratories or any other mouse of interest (at least 6 weeks of age; 20 to 30 g each)
14 mg pellets (dustless precision pellets for mice, Bio‐Serv)

Clean cages for prefeeding (one cage per mouse; in addition to the home cages)
Operant chambers (commercially available e.g., Med Associates) each housed inside a light‐resistant and sound‐attenuating box (each operant chamber is 21.6‐cm long × 17.8‐cm wide × 12.7‐cm high and has two retractable levers, a pellet receptacle between them, and a house light (3 W, 24 V) on the opposite wall
Desktop computer with Microsoft Windows operating system
Med Associates behavioral software: Med‐PC and Trans‐IV
- Behavioral program for continuous reinforcement (CRF)
- Behavioral programs for random interval schedules (RI30 and RI60)
- Behavioral program for extinction test
Infrared photo beam
Scale for weighing food and mice
Med‐PC to Excel (Med Associates)

NOTE: Behavioral programs can be written by the experimenter or adapted from open‐source repositories such as the Medstate Notation Repository.

Alternate Protocol 1: Alternative Devaluation Method Using Lithium Chloride Injection (3 Days)

Lithium chloride solution (Sigma Chemical; 0.15 M, 40 ml/kg intraperitoneal)
1‐ml syringes

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Figures

Figure 8.29.1 Each operant chamber (21.6‐cm long × 17.8‐cm wide × 12.7‐cm high) should be housed within a light‐resistant and sound‐attenuating box. Each chamber has a pellet receptacle in the center of one wall where food pellets are dispensed via an external pellet dispenser. On either side of the receptacle are retractable levers, and on the opposite wall, a 3 W, 24 V house light.

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Figure 8.29.2 Example of a mouse performing on an operant task.

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Figure 8.29.3 Data from a devaluation test adapted from a published study (Yu et al., ). Abbreviations: WT, wild‐type mice; KO, A2A adenosine receptor knockout mice.

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Literature Cited

Literature Cited
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