Fig 1.
Schematic figure of the vertical maze 1 m x 1 m that was used as the spatial cognition task to be solved by juvenile edible dormice n = 51.
The dashed line represents the shortest and direct path (261 cm). Performance was measured as distance, transitions, velocity and duration.
Fig 2.
Mean performance in maze over different sessions, n = 51, maximum time limit 30 min per animal.
First Training corresponds to the first training session where animals were unexperienced, maximum 3 Trials. Pre-Surgery corresponds to the last training session 1 day prior to surgery and 13 days after the first trainings session, maximum 7 Trials. Post-surgery corresponds to the first test session after surgery and 14 days of recovery, maximum 5 Trials A) Mean distance in cm covered in maze over trials. Shortest distance to pass through the maze: 261 cm B) Mean transitions (counts) from direct path per trial, minimum transition counted: 1 (i.e. entering the maze-frame) C) mean velocity in cm/s D) mean duration per trial in seconds.
Table 1.
Animal characteristics and experimental setup effects on performance as estimated by generalized mixed-effect models.
Fig 3.
Performance in the maze in different sessions: First time, pre-surgery and post-surgery, n = 51.
First session corresponds to the first training session where animals were unexperienced. Pre-Surgery corresponds to the last training session 1 day prior to surgery and 13 days after the first trainings session. Post-surgery corresponds to the first test session after surgery and 14 days of recovery A) Distance in cm covered in maze, direct path = 261cm B) Transitions from the direct path C) Velocity of animals in cm/s D) Duration in seconds to finish trials. Differences between first vs. pre-surgery session and first vs. post-surgery session were significant for every performance variable. Significant differences at ≤0.01, ≤0.001, ≤0.0001, levels are highlighted using **,*** and **** respectively.
Table 2.
Turkey’s post hoc pairwise comparisons for each level of session.
Fig 4.
Monitoring of physiological parameters during anaesthesia a) Pulse rate (PR) in beats per minute (Time) b) Respiratory rate (RR) in breaths per minute (Time) c) Oxygen saturation (SpO2) in % over time.