Discussion: curious about your experime...

curious about your experimental setup. Your mice get pampered :)

The Mouse King speaks! And about pampering of all things. I thought there were no better cared for mice than those lucky to be in Boston.

I am reluctant to say much in a public forum but yes, we just doing a progressive ratio test - so seeing how many responses (nose pokes in a hole) they're willing to make to get choccie milk. We have old and young mice (bizarrely the older ones seem to be working harder/more hooked) and some of them have an ADHD drug, which seems to be improving the performance of old mice in a complex cognitive task (for which they also get choccie milk). When you take them out they look at you like"What, no more?!" One of them this morning just got 40 something rewards, which is impressive performance but unfortunately extending my working day beyond all semblance of normal.

Oooo! Choccie milk. If I find all the controls, can I have choccie milk? And I promise to practice my fiddle, er violin ;-}

Something to incorporate into the next CSU superstars methinks. Maybe if I tried this with my undergrads we could compare results.

It has to be whole fat choccie milk though. They won't work for anything less. Cue lots of interesting hikes round downtown during the last storm, when Dunkin Donuts hadn't received their deliveries. Trying to explain to people why 1% fat just isn't good enough makes you look like a serious mental.

And George, if I make it up on Sunday, I'll be sure to bring an extra bottle :)

;-} Actually work best for pinot noir.

You see, this is a great concern of ours. Are mice just like humans in that once they reach a certain age, a sugary treat is less attractive than a more grown up one? Saying that, this group of experiments seems to suggest that they're pretty keen for whole fat choccie goodness at both age groups!

Can't remember the last time I've had choccie milk. Hot chocolate on the other hand is a winter favorite, when saturated by tea and when it's too early/late for PN. Taste will probably change though as I age. Will let you know.

Wouldn't it be cheaper (and less annoying to find) if you just bought sugar and regular milk and mixed them? Or do the mice want the chocolate flavor and not just the fat, sugar, and liquid?

I'm finding it amusing to think of the accountants dealing with Dunkin' Donuts receipts and not batting an eyelid.

Okay, so the old ones really do like the choccie milk. It's 8.04 and I'm waiting for the final one to finish testing still. The worst thing is, they switch off the mouse house lights at 7pm. So I have some fun fumbling in the dark to put him back!

Grrr. Hurry up! I am very hungry.

Maybe you should try Pinot noir. Would go well in a dimmed light setting. Some mood music, things would really rock.

I would rather go home to see how Rob's interview went! Pinot Noir there is far more attractive...I'm glad it's a rest day from running tomorrow. Sleeepy.

For the mice! You're in training.

Oh dear, I'm not sure I'd ever get up for morning sessions if it wasn't for the bottle of chocolate milk waiting in my fridge! I'm not fussy about the fat content though, just the consistency, I like it to pour like milk rather than like gloop. Hope Rob's interview went well, and a belated Happy Birthday, not sure which planet I was on at the weekend to completely miss it.

So there are no tobacco-company-style dodgy addictive chemicals in DD choccy milk? Just askin'...