Nose contact sequence

Definition

A discrete (state event) variable that is scored from an instance of nose contact of one type to the following nose contact of opposite type, both performed by the focal subject.

In other words:

▪From an instance of Nose-nose contact to the next instance of Nose-anogenital contact. Or

▪From an instance of Nose-anogenital contact to the next instance of Nose-nose contact.

See also Nose contact

Calculation

1.EthoVision XT selects all instances of type Nose-nose contact or Nose-anogenital contact (depending on what is chosen in the settings), and longer than 10 video frames (0.33 s for a video of 30 fps).

2.EthoVision XT selects all the instances of type of Nose-contact other than that selected in the previous step, and longer than 10 video frames (0.33 s).

3.If the second Nose-contact occurs within 60 video frames (2 seconds, for a video of 30 fps) from the end of the first one, a Nose contact sequence is found.

How to specify Nose contact sequence

1.Open an Analysis profile and in the Dependent Variables panel, under Live Mouse Tracker, click the Add button next to Nose contact sequence.

2.Under Calculate Statistics for, select Nose-nose to Nose-anogenital, Nose-anogenital to Nose-nose, or both.

3.Complete the procedure to add the variable to the Analysis profile. See Calculate statistics: procedure

Example

The following example shows a sequence of type Nose-nose contact to Nose-anogenital contact of Subject A directed to subject B. The position and orientation of the subjects at the beginning and at the end of the sequence are shown on the right. Triangles represents the nose points and squares represent the tail-base points.