Behavioral Evaluation of Odor Memory in Mice

Background

When presented with a novel and familiar odor, mice behaviorally express memory for the familiar odor by spending a greater proportion of time investigating the unknown stimulus (Ennaceur and Delacour, 1988). Previously encountered odors can also instigate an increase in investigation if it is found in a novel position in space or temporal sequence (Mitchell and Laiacona, 1998; Eacott and Norman, 2004; Dere et al., 2005; Hunsaker et al., 2008; Barker et al., 2017; Aqrabawi and Kim, 2018). This sensitivity to the contextual information associated with an odor can be useful for evaluating different aspects of memory which may manifest from unique neural substrates. This is particularly useful when investigating with animal models of memory disorders where one form of memory is affected to a greater extent. Notably, none of the behavioral paradigms require extensive training and can be easily modified to suit experimental needs.