This blog is devoted to BIOL 6988, a graduate level seminar in the biological sciences at Youngstown State University. While targeted towards graduate students, BIOL 6988 actively incorporates undergraduate participants in their scholastic endeavors in the biological sciences. This blog is intended as a educational tool not just for YSU students and faculty, but for anyone who wishes to contribute to an active-learning environment.
Tomorrow's seminar will feature two speakers from Dr. Tall's research program - Jillian Billeck and Marsha Winkler. Please be sure to come out and support the efforts of these two students. Thanks for a great semester!
I think this question would apply to both seminar presentations. I wanted to know to what extent you think the development period of the animals contributed to the results? It seems like the animals are very young coming in to the lab and probably have not developed the same social skills that would exhibited by the same rat after maturing and being socialized.
What specific period are you referring to? While it is true that maturity may be a factor that would affect the level of positive (empathetic) social skills present, older rats provide for a more diverse set of circumstances that could be considered confounding variables. For example, housing conditions as the rats develop would need to be highly controlled. Preexisting relationships between cagemates could affect results as well. The hormones associated with sexual maturation are associated with aggression and what is considered "normal" behavior between adolescent rats of the age range that we used are more similar to the empathetic behavior we were observing. We wanted to observe the level of behavior exhibited with no other influences, therefore the small amount of time the rats spent housed together prior to injection is logical.
Jillian is correct about the logistical difficulties in using older rats. That being said, my study may very well have benefited from the use of older rats, as it could have improved the overall levels of conditioning. Still, all the rats were sexually mature and well-socialized by the time we began our data collection.
I agree with Jillian that I think her younger rats were better to be used in her data collection. I can see that more mature rats may be better in Marshalls in terms of the conditioning. That being said, both Marshall and Jillian did great in their presentations! Everything was easy to follow and understand.
Jillian and Marshall both did a fantastic job presenting their material. It'd be interesting to see the favorability of each room in Marshall's research between rats that were of adolescence and rats that had already matured.
First and foremost, great job to both Marshall and Jillian on their presentations. I think its interesting seeing the trend between the lasting conditioning and time...and kind of along with what Kelsey mentioned, I wonder if the age of the mice could have a major effect on the outcome.
Both Marshall and Jillian did good job in their presentation and I think there is much to learn from them.I was wondering if rats would do the same since mices and rats belong to the same group of classification.
I think this question would apply to both seminar presentations. I wanted to know to what extent you think the development period of the animals contributed to the results? It seems like the animals are very young coming in to the lab and probably have not developed the same social skills that would exhibited by the same rat after maturing and being socialized.
ReplyDeleteWhat specific period are you referring to? While it is true that maturity may be a factor that would affect the level of positive (empathetic) social skills present, older rats provide for a more diverse set of circumstances that could be considered confounding variables. For example, housing conditions as the rats develop would need to be highly controlled. Preexisting relationships between cagemates could affect results as well. The hormones associated with sexual maturation are associated with aggression and what is considered "normal" behavior between adolescent rats of the age range that we used are more similar to the empathetic behavior we were observing. We wanted to observe the level of behavior exhibited with no other influences, therefore the small amount of time the rats spent housed together prior to injection is logical.
ReplyDeleteJillian is correct about the logistical difficulties in using older rats. That being said, my study may very well have benefited from the use of older rats, as it could have improved the overall levels of conditioning. Still, all the rats were sexually mature and well-socialized by the time we began our data collection.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jillian that I think her younger rats were better to be used in her data collection. I can see that more mature rats may be better in Marshalls in terms of the conditioning. That being said, both Marshall and Jillian did great in their presentations! Everything was easy to follow and understand.
ReplyDeleteJillian and Marshall both did a fantastic job presenting their material. It'd be interesting to see the favorability of each room in Marshall's research between rats that were of adolescence and rats that had already matured.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, great job to both Marshall and Jillian on their presentations. I think its interesting seeing the trend between the lasting conditioning and time...and kind of along with what Kelsey mentioned, I wonder if the age of the mice could have a major effect on the outcome.
ReplyDeleteBoth Marshall and Jillian did good job in their presentation and I think there is much to learn from them.I was wondering if rats would do the same since mices and rats belong to the same group of classification.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post! We will be linking to this particularly great article on our site. Keep up the great writing.
ReplyDelete