Sucrose Preference Test
Objective: Assessment of anhedonia through measurement of sucrose preference in mice
This is a Sucrose Preference Test protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 3 procedural steps, 1 equipment items, 2 materials. Extracted from a 2016 paper published in Molecular Psychiatry.
Model and subjects
mouse • C57BL/6J background • male • 60-90 days • 101
Study window
~3 week study window | ~30 minutes hands-on
Core workflow
Animal acclimation to testing room • Sucrose preference test execution • Chronic restraint stress application (if applicable)
Primary readouts
- Sucrose preference (anhedonia assessment)
Key equipment and reagents
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Protocol Steps
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Animal acclimation to testing room
Animals were given habituation time to the behavioral testing room prior to testing
Note: Performed between 0900h and 1600h
View evidence from paper
“Animals were given 30 min of habituation to the behavioral testing room. Behavioral phenotyping was performed between 0900 h and 1600 h.”
Sucrose preference test execution
Sucrose preference test performed as part of behavioral phenotyping battery, conducted after rotarod, elevated plus maze, marble burying test, and open field test to minimize influence of prior test history
Note: Test order: rotarod, elevated plus maze, marble burying test, open field test, sucrose preference test, novelty suppressed feeding, forced swim test. Order reversed after chronic restraint stress for bell-shaped stress exposure.
View evidence from paper
“Tests were performed from the least to the most invasive to minimize the influence of prior test history (in order: rotarod, elevated plus maze, marble burying test, open field test, sucrose preference test, novelty suppressed feeding and forced swim test)”
Chronic restraint stress application (if applicable)
After baseline behavioral testing, animals were submitted to restraint stress for 21 days. Each day, mice were placed in a horizontal resting position inside a well-ventilated 50ml falcon tube
Note: Restraint stress applied at 1000h daily. Tube has 12 holes of 0.5mm diameter for ventilation
View evidence from paper
“After baseline behavioral testing, animals were submitted to restraint stress for 21 days. Every day, mice were placed in a horizontal resting position inside a well-ventilated (12 holes, 0.5 mm diameter) 50 ml falcon tube at 1000 h and after 4–6 h they were unrestrained.”