A Plethysmometer is a valuable piece of equipment used to measure the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory agents that are experimentally induced in rodents. It can also be used to test agents designed to reduce endemic conditions.

1. Principles & Methods Of
Radial Arm Maze, Y Maze &
Plethysmometer

2. Radial Arm Maze :
The Radial Arm Maze was designed by Olton and Samuelson in 1976 to
measure spatial learning and memory in rats.
A behavioral test called the radial arm maze (RAM) is used to measure the
spatial learning and memory of small animals like rats and mice. The RAM is
often composed of acrylic material and has a central platform with many
arms spreading out from it.
The animal is normally placed on the central platform and allowed to
explore the maze during the test. After tracking the animal's movements,
various metrics, including the number of arm entries, the amount of time
spent in each arm, and the number of mistakes made, can be used to gauge
the animal's capacity for spatial learning and memory. By relocating the
reward in the arms, the test can also be used to gauge working memory.

3. Radial arm maze method -
Rodents (mice or rats) are placed in the center compartment and allowed to
explore the arms in search of this reward. Throughout an experiment, the
animal must remember which arms have been visited in order to ensure that
they do not repeatedly enter arms which do not contain a food reward.
The animal must remember the decisions they have already made because
the maze's architecture mandates that they return to the center between
each arm visit and are consequently given the same 8 possibilities every
time. In this way, the radial arm maze measures two forms of memory known
known as “reference memory” and “working memory.

4. Y Maze :
Y Maze Spontaneous Alternation is a behavioral test for measuring the
willingness of rodents to explore new environments.
The Y maze is frequently used in preclinical research to evaluate behavioral
tasks for examining spatial learning and memory. Spontaneous alternation
testing and recognition memory tests are two examples of Y maze tests in
use. It has been demonstrated that these tests are sensitive to amnestic
medications, gene modifications, and hippocampus injury. These Y maze
paradigms are used by Creative Biolabs to test memory function in mice or
assess the impact of novel medications on cognition.

5. Y Maze Spontaneous Alternation Test -
Y Maze Spontaneous Alternation is a behavioral test for measuring the willingness
of rodents to explore new environments. Most of the time, rodents will rather
explore a new arm of the maze than go back to one they have already explored.
The hippocampus, septum, basal forebrain, and prefrontal cortex are only a few of
the regions of the brain that are engaged in this job.
Testing takes place in a Y-shaped maze with three arms made of white, opaque
plastic that are 120 degrees apart from one another. The animal is given access to
the three arms of the maze after being shown the center of the maze. Throughout
multiple arm entries, the subject should show a tendency to enter a less recently
visited arm.
The number of arm entries and the number of triads are recorded to calculate the
percentage of an alternation. An entry occurs when all four limbs are within the
arm. This test is used to quantify cognitive deficits in transgenic strains of mice and
and evaluate novel chemical entities for their effects on cognition.

6. Plethysmometer :
A Plethysmometer is a valuable piece of equipment used to measure the effectiveness
of anti-inflammatory agents that are experimentally induced in rodents. It can also be
used to test agents designed to reduce endemic conditions.
The Digital Plethysmometer is a valuable tool for detecting inflammation by tracking
changes in tiny paw volume. When a rat or mouse paw is inserted into the apparatus, it
monitors minute volume changes brought on by water displacement.
Principle of digital plethysmometer -
The Plethysmometer Control Unit detects the conductance changes and generates an
output signal to the digital display indicating the volume displacement measured. The
current value remains in the digital display until a new trial starts.
The Plethysmometer (Paw Edema) test serves to measure the effectiveness of anti-
inflammatory agents to reduce edemic conditions. In use, the paw is inserted into water,
contained in a special water cell of which the resistance is changed due to the
immersion of the animal's paw.