# Effects of inter-individual variability in experimenters’ sensitivity and training on behavioral assessment of animal models of vestibular disorders

## TL;DR

This study shows that differences in raters' sensitivity and training affect how they assess animal behavior in models of vestibular disorders.

## Contribution

The study reveals that individual sensitivity to animal welfare, not scientific level or gender, influences behavioral scoring in vestibular lesion models.

## Key findings

- Raters' individual variability significantly altered behavioral assessment outcomes.
- High sensitivity to animal welfare led to exaggerated symptom scores in ototoxic lesion models.
- Automated assessments are recommended to reduce bias in behavioral scoring.

## Abstract

This study was designed to explore the correlation between animal behavioral assessment quality and rater’s individual sensitivity and training.

We selected different raters to form a panel to rate the severity of posturo-locomotor deficits in animals displaying excitotoxic or ototoxic lesions-induced vestibular syndrome. All raters, regardless of their scientific level, received brief training based on videos and tutorial files. They then had to score videos of rats with different types and stages of vestibular syndromes. All data were collected and analyzed.

Inter-individual variability in raters significantly altered the results of behavioral assessment of posturo-locomotor deficits in vestibulo-lesioned animals. Neither gender nor scientific level had an impact on the results. In contrast, the sensitivity of the individual to animal welfare impacted the mean score in the ototoxic lesion model. Raters with high sensitivity tended to exaggerate the symptomatology.

The use of automated assessments of posturo-locomotor deficits in vestibulo-lesioned rodents, is the best solution to limit these assessment biases.