Main arena

This tab is used to define the main arena as well as the zones of interest of the image.

The arena:

The arena is the part of the image in wich the animal evolves and wich is used for analysis.

It could be :

the main enclosure of an open-field if it contains a single animal.

a part of an open-field if it is made up of several identical analysis areas allowing several animals to be recorded on a single video. To analyze the movement of an animal in another area of the open-field you can define secondary arenas.

a maze of any shape ( Y-maze, Barnes maze, Hamlet, ... ).

Any areas of the image that are not included in the arena (represented by the hatched area) will not be analyzed.

To set the arena:

1.Draw a new zone of any shape or select an existing one (except a compound zone).

2.In the dialog box for editing zone parameters, check the box

A protocol can only contain one main arena.

If the arena is not defined, the whole image will be analyzed. This is not recommended, as it will then be impossible to adjust the arena if the camera has moved between 2 recordings. It will also be impossible to set secondary arenas.

The arena must be defined before starting the analysis of the tests. Once analysis has started, the arena should not be changed.

A compound zone cannot be the main arena.

The ruler line :

The ruler line is used to define the ratio between a "virtual" distance (in number of pixels) on the image and the real distance (in millimeters, centimeters or meters) in the open-field. To do this, you must place the ruler along an object whose dimensions are known (for example one side of the open-field) and indicate the actual length in the box: "Length of the ruler line").