# Score behaviors manually during acquisition

Aim

To record behaviors manually, while EthoVision XT tracks the subjects.

note You can also Score behaviors manually after acquisition.

Prerequisites

▪You have defined behaviors in the Manual Scoring Settings.

▪In the Acquisition screen locate the Analysis Results and Scoring pane, and click the Manual scoring tab. If you do not see the Analysis Results and Scoring pane, click the Show/Hide button and select Analysis Results and Scoring.

▪If you track from video files, in the Playback Control window, deselect DDS. So you make sure that the video file is played at the normal speed.

Behavior buttons and key codes

Each behavior has its corresponding buttons (with key code, if defined) for each arena and subject. Mutually-exclusive behaviors are shown under their group name.

For multiple animals per arena, you can use the fill color as a reference to identify animals.

If at least one trial is set to Planned in your Trial List, the buttons for behaviors defined as Initially active in the Manual Scoring Settings are highlighted in green (see No grooming in the picture below), indicating that when you start the trial this is recorded automatically as initial behavior.

Procedure

1.Start the trial.

2.To score a behavior for a specific subject, arena and behavior, press the key for that combination, or click the button for that combination.

Result: The button of the scored behavior is highlighted in green. The behavior’s start has been scored.

For mutually-exclusive behaviors, the button of the previous behavior is reset.

3.When the subject no longer shows that behavior, do the following:

▪For Mutually-exclusive states, score the behavior that is active next.

▪For Start-Stop states, press the stop key or click the button for that behavior.

Result: The button of the behavior is reset. For mutually-exclusive behaviors, the button of the new behavior is highlighted in green.

Notes

▪Data can only be recorded after tracking has started. If you start the trial and tracking starts some time later as a result of Trial control conditions setting some delay, any scoring action between the start of the trial and the tracking is not recorded.

▪You cannot pause recording behaviors even when you track from a video file. However, after acquisition you can Score behaviors manually after acquisition.

▪If you want to change the initial state of a subject for the next trials, do so in the Manual Scoring Settings. Initial behavior for trials already acquired remains as it is.

▪To modify the coding scheme, stop the trial and click Manual Scoring Settings in the Experiment Explorer.

▪For more efficient data scoring you can use the X-keys programmable keyboards. You can for example press and hold a key as long as the behavior lasts. Contact Noldus Information Technology for more information.

▪To improve clarity in the video image during the observation, choose which body points to show, and adjust their size. See The video window > Show/hide body points and other track features

▪If you want to show the arena and zones during the scoring sessions, click the Show/Hide button at the top-left corner, and choose Arena features.