Zone Preference in the Visual Water Maze
June 26, 2025
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Monoculars are versatile telescopic devices that provide enlarged images of distant objects. While some people describe a monocular as half of a binocular, the truth is that monoculars have numerous advantages compared to other optical tools. Monoculars are highly compact, lightweight, and portable. Moreover, professionals favor night vision monoculars overnight vision binoculars as having one eye free to examine the surroundings can be invaluable. Note that monoculars are used in a variety of settings, such as hunting, surveillance, birding, reading, and even stargazing.
Interestingly, the history of monoculars is linked to that of other magnifying devices. We should note that the first refractor telescope was invented in the 17th century, with spectacle-maker Hans Lippershey being credited with the invention of the telescope, whereas the first real binocular (as we know them today) was built in the 19th century. One of the main advancements in lens technology that fostered the design of modern monoculars was the employment of prism-erecting systems to correct image orientation, launched in 1854 by Ignazio Porro and Jean Georges Hofmann. Today, such systems are integrated part of monoculars and adopted by some of the best optical brands, such as Vortex, Celestron, Bushnell, Wingspan, Nikon, and Zeiss.
Although monoculars are often overlooked when searching for a magnifying instrument, the truth is that monoculars are invaluable instruments that can be used in a variety of settings, such as marine observations, surveillance, hiking, hunting, and even stargazing. Nevertheless, due to the wide variety of optical products and competitors on the market, choosing a monocular can be a daunting task, especially for beginners. Before purchasing a unit, prospective buyers should consider three main factors:
Requirements: Before buying a telescopic device, users should decide what they’ll use it for (e.g., stargazing, hunting, etc.) and where they’ll be using it (e.g., hiking expeditions). In fact, the main choice users should make is between binoculars and monoculars. While binoculars are created for use with two eyes, monoculars are suitable for use with one eye, which is highly beneficial for people with vision problems. Furthermore, as stated above, night vision monoculars are highly favored as they do not kill one’s night vision and allow one eye to be free to examine the surroundings. Last but not least, monoculars have only one focus to adjust, which makes them easy and quick to use in different situations.
Specifications: Monoculars magnify images by focusing light through lenses and prisms, with prism systems resulting in light and compact designs. Two of the main specifications to consider are magnification and lens diameter. Interestingly, monoculars for sale come with two parameters (e.g., 6×42): one is the magnification level (e.g., 6X), the other one is the diameter of the lens (e.g., 42 mm). Note that lower magnification provides a bigger field of view. Usually, telescopes are defined as devices with magnification over 20X and an aperture of 60-90 mm. Note that telescopes normally require a stand (e.g., tripod). On the other hand, just like binoculars, popular parameters for monoculars are 7×25, 8×30, 8×42, and 10×42.
Total costs: Given the vast variety of optical products for sale, choosing a powerful but affordable unit can be challenging. Magnification, aperture, and materials used are the three main factors that affect total costs. Usually, monoculars are cheaper than binoculars and easier to maintain. Accessories, such as the wrist or neck-straps, should be considered, especially for hiking, hunting, and any other outdoor adventure. Note that for people with arthritis or similar health problems, a neck strap can be better than a wrist strap in order to improve comfort and user experience.
With a variety of features, models, and competitors, choosing a monocular can be a difficult task. Based on different specifications, user reviews, and areas of use, we provide a list of the best monoculars on the market to help buyers make an informed decision:
Monoculars for hunting are highly popular units. Note that such monoculars must be lightweight and waterproof, with a high magnification ratio and durable armor. Additionally, some may include night vision to allow night hunting and wildlife monitoring.
Bushnell 191142 Legend Ultra HD Monocular with Picatinny Rail Mount
Parameters: 10×42
Bushnell 191142 Legend Ultra HD Monocular with Picatinny Rail Mount is an attractive and powerful model with 10×42 parameters. This fog and waterproof unit come with a twist-up eyecup, fully multi-coated optics, a Picatinny rail mount, and a Mil-Hash reticle. Bushnell 191142 Legend Ultra HD Monocular with Picatinny Rail Mount is ideal for a wide range of activities, such as hunting, hiking, surveillance, and even stargazing.
Night vision monoculars are also highly popular units. As explained above, such monoculars are often favored overnight vision binoculars as they do not kill one’s night vision. They can be used for different activities, such as hunting, fishing, camping, or surveillance.
Barska NVX100 3X Night Vision Monocular with Built-in Camera
Parameters: 3×14.5
Barska NVX100 3x Night Vision Monocular with Built-in Camera is a powerful model equipped with a 20 mm exit pupil, 3X magnification power, a 14.5 mm lens diameter, and an infrared illuminator that allows viewing in the dark. The unit is quick to use and allows images or videos to be viewed on its internal screen or shared on an external device. With numerous features and a built-in camera, Barska NVX100 3X Night Vision Monocular with Built-in Camera is ideal for wildlife observations, hunting, and survival.
Thermal monoculars are sophisticated units, which are now available to all people. Such monoculars are highly popular among hunters as they can help distinguish the prey by thermally tracking it down.
ATN OTS-HD 384 2-8X Thermal Smart HD Monocular
ATN OTS-HD 384 2-8X Thermal Smart HD Monocular is a sophisticated product with a smooth zoom system, a built-in rangefinder, and Wi-Fi connectivity. The thermal sensor has 384*288 HD resolution and facilitates the capture of heat signatures, allowing users to capture their experiences on an SD card or stream them in real-time. The unit comes with 3D gyroscopic image stabilization and an e-compass. Note that ATN OTS-HD 384 2-8X Thermal Smart HD Monocular can be used during the day as well as at night.
Monoculars for surveillance are popular optical instruments. Note that they should be equipped with durable armor to resist harsh weather conditions and changing environments.
Gosky 12×55 High Definition
Parameters: 12×55
Gosky 12×55 High Definition is a wonderful water and shockproof monocular, ideal for surveillance, camping, birding, climbing, and hunting. It is equipped with a BAK-4 prism, a green-film objective lens, a long eye relief, 12×55 magnification power, and rubber armor. It’s no surprise that Gosky 12×55 High Definition makes a great present for any outdoor enthusiast. Additionally, the unit comes with a smartphone adapter allowing users to take photos of the area they are surveilling or simply observing.
Bird watching is a popular activity, making monoculars for bird watching highly popular. Note that such units should come with reasonable magnification power and a large aperture. At the same time, they have to be compact to improve user comfort and portability.
Wingspan Optics Explorer High Powered 12×50 Monocular
Parameters: 12×50
Wingspan Optics Explorer High Powered 12×50 Monocular is one of the most powerful models on the market, ideal for bird watching and other outdoor activities. The unit comes with BAK-4 prisms, a 14 mm eye relief, and 12×50 magnification power. Its 50 mm lens diameter ensures high light-gathering and a large field of view. Note that Wingspan Optics Explorer High Powered 12×50 Monocular is fog and waterproof, which makes it a great addition to any travel adventure.
Marine monoculars are ideal for marine observations, boating, fishing, and water sports. Note that they should be light and durable at the same time. It’s self-explanatory that waterproof models are a must.
Opticron Marine 3
Parameters: 7×50
Opticron Marine 3 is a great marine unit. It features Porro prisms, anti-reflective multi-coatings, and cross-field resolution. Additionally, the unit has a long eye relief (ideal for eyeglasses wearers), 7X magnification power, and a 50 mm aperture. With a full nitrogen gas-filled structure, this waterproof and durable Opticron Marine 3 monocular is easily protected from harsh weather and bumps.
As monoculars are lighter than binoculars, portable and compact monoculars are ideal for outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers. Note that travel and hiking monoculars should be waterproof and shockproof to resist different environments and harsh weather.
Orion 10×42 Waterproof
Parameters: 10×42
Orion 10×42 Waterproof is a compact and portable unit weighing less than 11 ounces (310 grams). At the same time, this monocular has 10X magnification power and a fully multi-coated 42 mm lens. The unit is ideal for people who wear glasses as it has a 17 mm long eye relief, as well as a twist-up rubber eye guard. With its waterproof rubber armor, Orion 10×42 Waterproof Monocular is ideal for observing birds, wildlife, and scenery.
As pocket monoculars are lightweight and compact, such units are ideal for everyday use. In fact, mini monoculars can easily fit in your pocket. Note that close focus units can also support low vision reading.
Carson CloseUp CF-718
Parameters: 6×18
Carson CloseUp CF-718 is a beautiful mini model with 6×18 magnifying power. Note that it weighs only 2.8 ounces (79 grams), which makes it ideal for day-to-day life and numerous hobbies. In addition, Carson CloseUp CF-718 comes with a comfortable soft pouch, a wrist strap, and a lens cloth.
While monoculars are not particularly popular among amateur astronomers, there are some powerful models suitable for stargazing. Such units can help users view different bright and deep-sky objects.
Opticron BGA WP 10×42 Monocular
Parameters: 10×42
Opticron BGA WP 10×42 Monocular is a compact unit with roof prism design, waterproof construction, and fully multi-coated optics. The unit provides 10×42 magnification power and a close focus of up to 6.6 ft (2 m). With its compact design and high-quality optics, Opticron BGA WP 10×42 Monocular is simply great for exploring the secrets of the universe.
Buying a monocular can be challenging. Prospective buyers should also have in mind that taking care of monoculars is essential to guarantee long and accurate use. Although monoculars are easier to use and maintain than other telescopic devices, proper storing, cleaning, and handling is a must. Always consult your user manual and familiarize yourself with the basics of lens technology. Consider additional accessories, such as carry bags and straps. A wrist or a neck strap, for instance, is a must-have accessory for traveling and hiking. Whether it’s a pair of binoculars or a monocular, use a special cloth, wipes, compressed air, or solution to clean your telescopic device. Do not disable your unit. Last but not least, store your monoculars accordingly to reduce any possible adverse effects caused by moisture, sunlight, and excessive heat.
Monoculars are light and compact telescopic devices that provide enlarged images of distant objects. While there’s a wild variety of products and competitors on the market, prospective buyers should consider three main factors: requirements, specifications, and total costs. Magnification, lens diameter, and the materials used should also be considered. Note that monoculars for sale come with two parameters: one is the magnification level, and the other one is the diameter of the lens, with 7×25, 8×30, 8×42, and 10×42 models being highly popular. Interestingly, some of the most notable monocular brands include optical leaders such as Celestron, Nikon, Barska, Zeiss, and Bushnell.
Although monoculars are sometimes overlooked, such units can benefit numerous daily activities and hobbies, such as hunting, marine observations, watching wildlife, birding, surveillance, tactical use, and amateur astronomy. With their compact design, pocket and close focus monoculars can also benefit everyday activities and low vision reading. In the end, monoculars are wonderful and versatile products worth investing in.
In behavioral neuroscience, the Open Field Test (OFT) remains one of the most widely used assays to evaluate rodent models of affect, cognition, and motivation. It provides a non-invasive framework for examining how animals respond to novelty, stress, and pharmacological or environmental manipulations. Among the test’s core metrics, the percentage of time spent in the center zone offers a uniquely normalized and sensitive measure of an animal’s emotional reactivity and willingness to engage with a potentially risky environment.
This metric is calculated as the proportion of time spent in the central area of the arena—typically the inner 25%—relative to the entire session duration. By normalizing this value, researchers gain a behaviorally informative variable that is resilient to fluctuations in session length or overall movement levels. This makes it especially valuable in comparative analyses, longitudinal monitoring, and cross-model validation.
Unlike raw center duration, which can be affected by trial design inconsistencies, the percentage-based measure enables clearer comparisons across animals, treatments, and conditions. It plays a key role in identifying trait anxiety, avoidance behavior, risk-taking tendencies, and environmental adaptation, making it indispensable in both basic and translational research contexts.
Whereas simple center duration provides absolute time, the percentage-based metric introduces greater interpretability and reproducibility, especially when comparing different animal models, treatment conditions, or experimental setups. It is particularly effective for quantifying avoidance behaviors, risk assessment strategies, and trait anxiety profiles in both acute and longitudinal designs.
This metric reflects the relative amount of time an animal chooses to spend in the open, exposed portion of the arena—typically defined as the inner 25% of a square or circular enclosure. Because rodents innately prefer the periphery (thigmotaxis), time in the center is inversely associated with anxiety-like behavior. As such, this percentage is considered a sensitive, normalized index of:
Critically, because this metric is normalized by session duration, it accommodates variability in activity levels or testing conditions. This makes it especially suitable for comparing across individuals, treatment groups, or timepoints in longitudinal studies.
A high percentage of center time indicates reduced anxiety, increased novelty-seeking, or pharmacological modulation (e.g., anxiolysis). Conversely, a low percentage suggests emotional inhibition, behavioral avoidance, or contextual hypervigilance. reduced anxiety, increased novelty-seeking, or pharmacological modulation (e.g., anxiolysis). Conversely, a low percentage suggests emotional inhibition, behavioral avoidance, or contextual hypervigilance.
The percentage of center time is one of the most direct, unconditioned readouts of anxiety-like behavior in rodents. It is frequently reduced in models of PTSD, chronic stress, or early-life adversity, where animals exhibit persistent avoidance of the center due to heightened emotional reactivity. This metric can also distinguish between acute anxiety responses and enduring trait anxiety, especially in longitudinal or developmental studies. Its normalized nature makes it ideal for comparing across cohorts with variable locomotor profiles, helping researchers detect true affective changes rather than activity-based confounds.
Rodents that spend more time in the center zone typically exhibit broader and more flexible exploration strategies. This behavior reflects not only reduced anxiety but also cognitive engagement and environmental curiosity. High center percentage is associated with robust spatial learning, attentional scanning, and memory encoding functions, supported by coordinated activation in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and basal forebrain. In contrast, reduced center engagement may signal spatial rigidity, attentional narrowing, or cognitive withdrawal, particularly in models of neurodegeneration or aging.
The open field test remains one of the most widely accepted platforms for testing anxiolytic and psychotropic drugs. The percentage of center time reliably increases following administration of anxiolytic agents such as benzodiazepines, SSRIs, and GABA-A receptor agonists. This metric serves as a sensitive and reproducible endpoint in preclinical dose-finding studies, mechanistic pharmacology, and compound screening pipelines. It also aids in differentiating true anxiolytic effects from sedation or motor suppression by integrating with other behavioral parameters like distance traveled and entry count (Prut & Belzung, 2003).
Sex-based differences in emotional regulation often manifest in open field behavior, with female rodents generally exhibiting higher variability in center zone metrics due to hormonal cycling. For example, estrogen has been shown to facilitate exploratory behavior and increase center occupancy, while progesterone and stress-induced corticosterone often reduce it. Studies involving gonadectomy, hormone replacement, or sex-specific genetic knockouts use this metric to quantify the impact of endocrine factors on anxiety and exploratory behavior. As such, it remains a vital tool for dissecting sex-dependent neurobehavioral dynamics.
The percentage of center time is one of the most direct, unconditioned readouts of anxiety-like behavior in rodents. It is frequently reduced in models of PTSD, chronic stress, or early-life adversity. Because it is normalized, this metric is especially helpful for distinguishing between genuine avoidance and low general activity.
Environmental Control: Uniformity in environmental conditions is essential. Lighting should be evenly diffused to avoid shadow bias, and noise should be minimized to prevent stress-induced variability. The arena must be cleaned between trials using odor-neutral solutions to eliminate scent trails or pheromone cues that may affect zone preference. Any variation in these conditions can introduce systematic bias in center zone behavior. Use consistent definitions of the center zone (commonly 25% of total area) to allow valid comparisons. Software-based segmentation enhances spatial precision.
Evaluating how center time evolves across the duration of a session—divided into early, middle, and late thirds—provides insight into behavioral transitions and adaptive responses. Animals may begin by avoiding the center, only to gradually increase center time as they habituate to the environment. Conversely, persistently low center time across the session can signal prolonged anxiety, fear generalization, or a trait-like avoidance phenotype.
To validate the significance of center time percentage, it should be examined alongside results from other anxiety-related tests such as the Elevated Plus Maze, Light-Dark Box, or Novelty Suppressed Feeding. Concordance across paradigms supports the reliability of center time as a trait marker, while discordance may indicate task-specific reactivity or behavioral dissociation.
When paired with high-resolution scoring of behavioral events such as rearing, grooming, defecation, or immobility, center time offers a richer view of the animal’s internal state. For example, an animal that spends substantial time in the center while grooming may be coping with mild stress, while another that remains immobile in the periphery may be experiencing more severe anxiety. Microstructure analysis aids in decoding the complexity behind spatial behavior.
Animals naturally vary in their exploratory style. By analyzing percentage of center time across subjects, researchers can identify behavioral subgroups—such as consistently bold individuals who frequently explore the center versus cautious animals that remain along the periphery. These classifications can be used to examine predictors of drug response, resilience to stress, or vulnerability to neuropsychiatric disorders.
In studies with large cohorts or multiple behavioral variables, machine learning techniques such as hierarchical clustering or principal component analysis can incorporate center time percentage to discover novel phenotypic groupings. These data-driven approaches help uncover latent dimensions of behavior that may not be visible through univariate analyses alone.
Total locomotion helps contextualize center time. Low percentage values in animals with minimal movement may reflect sedation or fatigue, while similar values in high-mobility subjects suggest deliberate avoidance. This metric helps distinguish emotional versus motor causes of low center engagement.
This measure indicates how often the animal initiates exploration of the center zone. When combined with percentage of time, it differentiates between frequent but brief visits (indicative of anxiety or impulsivity) versus fewer but sustained center engagements (suggesting comfort and behavioral confidence).
The delay before the first center entry reflects initial threat appraisal. Longer latencies may be associated with heightened fear or low motivation, while shorter latencies are typically linked to exploratory drive or low anxiety.
Time spent hugging the walls offers a spatial counterbalance to center metrics. High thigmotaxis and low center time jointly support an interpretation of strong avoidance behavior. This inverse relationship helps triangulate affective and motivational states.
By expressing center zone activity as a proportion of total trial time, researchers gain a metric that is resistant to session variability and more readily comparable across time, treatment, and model conditions. This normalized measure enhances reproducibility and statistical power, particularly in multi-cohort or cross-laboratory designs.
For experimental designs aimed at assessing anxiety, exploratory strategy, or affective state, the percentage of time spent in the center offers one of the most robust and interpretable measures available in the Open Field Test.
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