Novel Object Recognition (NOR)
Novel Object Recognition (NOR): This is a test of dorsal hippocampal function. The test relies upon an animal becoming familiar with two identical objects during training (familiarization) and then testing its memory for the object they have seen before when assessed later (typically 24 h later) when the familiar object is re-presented paired with an identical copy of the original object and a new or novel object. Time spent exploring the novel object (in our hands this is ~70% novelty preference) is a reflection of intact memory for the original object. Performance below this (at or near 50% preference) reflects impaired memory for the original object. Novel place memory may also be tested in a variation of this method.
