Nesting and shredding behavior as an indicator of hippocampal ischemic damage

Mongolian gerbils were subjected to bilateral carotid artery occlusion, exposed to nesting material and examined daily. Five minutes of ischemia significantly reduced nesting behavior for 3 days; while 10 min attenuated nesting 6 days. Semi-novel re-exposure to nesting material also resulted in deficits. These disruptions in nesting behavior directly correlate to the amount of ischemic morphological damage and thus serve as a behavioral indicator of tissue damage.