it is a behaviour test of screening in lab animals.

1. Made by :- Riya Arora
m.pharm(pharmacology)
Behavioural test in mice

2. The method was described by Ther in 1953 to study
stimulant and sedative drugs.
The use of three mice per group implied a special social
situation of the animals.
For testing sedative activity , the mice are additionally
treated with a stimulant and for testing stimulant activity
with a sedative drug.
Each group of mice is observed repeatedly only for a short
period of time during one hour and compared to a
controlled group by a “blind” observer.

3. It regulates the periods of tiredness and wakefulness during the 24 hour
cycle. Derived from the Latin “circa deam” meaning “approximately a day”.
The body clock is caliberated by the appearance of natural light in a 24-hr
period.
It as a strong CNS stimulant belonging to amphetamine family.

4. PROCEDURE
1. Mice of either sex with an average weight of 25gm
are deprived of food and water for 24hr before the
test.
2. To avoid any influence of the circadian rhythm the
experiment is performed only between 8AM- 12
PM.
3. 12 animals are divided in a group of three animals
i.e for groups are taken.1 group served as the contol
group and other groups receive different doses of
test drug i.p

5. 4. For testing sedative activity , the mice are injected
after 10mins s.c with 0.5mg/kg methamphetamine.
5. For testing stimulant activity , the mice are treated
with 800mg/kg Paraldehyde.
6. 10 minutes later, each group is placed in the glass
jar of 12cm diameter and 20cm height which in turn
are placed in wooden box of 130*50*30cm . The
glass jar is illuminated from above.
7. Ten minutes after administration of
methamphetamine and paraldehyde the
observations are started.

6. Evaluation
 During one hour the observer looks every time for
1sec to register, if none, one, two or three mice
show any characteristic change in locomotion ,
rearing , grooming and sniffing.
 The maximum count in 1 hour is 180, generally
activity decreases within 1 hour. Nevertheless,
methamphetamine treated animals show counts
between 120 and 150. Groups treated with an
effective sedative drug show a dose dependent
decrease in total counts.
 The number of counts in treated group is
calculated as percentage of controls.

7. CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE METHOD
 The method gives reliable results for sedative drugs
and for compounds with central depressant activity
such as antihistaminics , neuroleptics and hypnotics.

8.  Skilled and trained observer is needed in order to get
reproducible results.
 Its time consuming method.