Source Paper
Dopamine D4 Receptor-Knock-Out Mice Exhibit Reduced Exploration of Novel Stimuli
Stephanie C. Dulawa, David K. Grandy, Malcolm J. Low, Martin P. Paulus, Mark A. Geyer
Journal of Neuroscience • 1999
Novel Object Test
Objective: Measurement of exploratory behavior and approach responses to novel objects in mice to assess novelty-related exploration and distinguish between exploratory versus anxiety-related behavioral components
This is a Novel Object Test protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 5 procedural steps, 3 equipment items. Extracted from a 1999 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
mouse • D4R-knock-out (D4R−/−) and wild-type (D4R+/+) mice • unknown • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
Estimated timing pending
Core workflow
Subject selection and grouping • Novel object test administration • Open field test administration
Primary readouts
- Behavioral responsiveness to novelty
- Exploratory behavior in response to novel objects
- Approach behavior
- Avoidance behavior
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
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- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
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Protocol Steps
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Subject selection and grouping
D4R-knock-out (D4R−/−) and wild-type (D4R+/+) mice were selected for behavioral testing
Note: Study compared two genotypes across three different behavioral paradigms
View evidence from paper
“we evaluated D4R-knock-out (D4R−/−) and wild-type (D4R+/+) mice in three approach–avoidance paradigms”
Novel object test administration
Mice were tested in the novel object test, which is designed to maximize approach behavior and exploratory responses to novel stimuli
Note: The novel object test produced the largest phenotypic differences between genotypes
View evidence from paper
“The largest phenotypic differences were observed in the novel object test, which maximizes approach behavior”
Open field test administration
Mice were tested in the open field test, which is designed to maximize avoidance behavior and anxiety-related responses
Note: The open field test produced the smallest phenotypic differences between genotypes
View evidence from paper
“the smallest phenotypic differences were found in the open field test, which maximizes avoidance behavior”
Emergence test administration
Mice were tested in the emergence test as an intermediate approach-avoidance paradigm
Note: This test was used to assess approach-avoidance conflict responses
View evidence from paper
“we evaluated D4R-knock-out (D4R−/−) and wild-type (D4R+/+) mice in three approach–avoidance paradigms: the open field, emergence, and novel object tests”
Behavioral measurement and analysis
Behavioral responses to novelty were measured and compared between D4R−/− and D4R+/+ mice across all three tests
Note: Analysis focused on distinguishing exploratory behavior from anxiety-related behavior
View evidence from paper
“D4R−/− mice were significantly less behaviorally responsive to novelty than D4R+/+ mice in all three tests”