Objective method for registration of the sniffing component of the search behavior in rabbits subjected to food deprivation.

A method for registration of the sniffing component of the search behavior in rabbits subjected to food deprivation is suggested. Pulsed activities of the muscles controlling the movements of the wings of the nostrils and the pressure in the nasal cavity are recorded simultaneously. The method allows accurate artifact-free registration of the time and amplitude parameters of the sniffing component of the search behavior. The registration is realized on an MP150 programmed complex, consisting of EMG 100C biopotential amplifiers and Samba 202 intracavitary pressure recorder. The method allows synchronous real-time registration of pulsed activities of the muscles setting in motion the wings of the nostrils and the changes in the intranasal pressure in the course of search behavior of animals under conditions of food deprivation without limiting their locomotor activity.