Hole Board Test

Certain drugs (e.g., ethanol) are known to be strain dependent in their effects and may not produce consistent results in the hole-board test. Many commonly used drugs (e.g., fluoxetine) have pronounced dose-dependent effects on head dipping behavior, and therefore, dosing should be carefully considered see review in (22). 

Fig. 6 The modified hole board. In the center of the experimental box, i.e., in the unprotected area, a hole board is placed. The box is enlarged by an additional compartment, where the group-mates of the experimental animal are placed during testing...

Fig. 7 Results from behavioral testing in the modified hole board (see Sect. 2.2.5). While DBA/2 mice (DBA) display a more pronounced avoidance behavior towards an unprotected area as well as more risk assessment behavior than C57BL/6 (BL6) mice, no differences in term of general exploration and locomotion are found in these strains. Therefore, these strains can be considered to represent an interesting model for high and low anxiety...

Test apparatus (similar to the open field test) with hole-board insert (Table 18.1). The floor has four or more identical holes approximately 3 cm in diameter (22). 

Usually an insulator is applied over the surface of the bolster plate and positioned against the underside of the PWB to prevent electrical shorting of the metal bolster to any electrical features on the secondary side of the PWB (through-hole vias, test pads, and so on). It is best not to include any components on the secondary side of the board beneath the bolster plate. If components must be included, the bolster plate will have to be relieved for clearance so that these components will not be crushed during LGA assembly. 

To provide a more complete profile of performance skills, we needed to measure psychomotor function as well as scores on paper and pencil tasks. After discarding a small pegboard test used in the 1960 studies, we replaced it with a large flat board that rested on a table and used much larger holes and pegs. This reduced the need for the visual acuity required to place circular blocks into matching holes as rapidly as possible. 

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