Score grooming time percent, mean bout length, cephalocaudal sequences, group SEM, and CSV export for repetitive-behavior studies.
Enter total grooming duration, bout count, and cephalocaudal sequence counts for each animal. The scorer reports grooming time percent, mean bout length, and sequence count summaries by group.
| Animal | Group | Session (s) | Grooming (s) | Bouts | Sequences | Grooming % | Mean bout (s) | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.7% | 2.89 | |||||||
| 10.2% | 3.05 | |||||||
| 19.7% | 3.47 | |||||||
| 21.0% | 3.50 |
| Animal | Group | Grooming % | Mean bout (s) | Sequences |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WT-1 | WT | 8.67 | 2.89 | 7 |
| WT-2 | WT | 10.17 | 3.05 | 8 |
| BTBR-1 | BTBR | 19.67 | 3.47 | 21 |
| BTBR-2 | BTBR | 21.00 | 3.50 | 24 |
When to use
Do not use for
Decide how long a pause must last before a new bout starts, then apply that rule to every video.
Novel arena grooming can reflect stress or anxiety-like behavior as well as repetitive patterning. Match novelty across groups.
A group can have similar total grooming time but different syntactic chain structure. Keep duration and pattern metrics separate.
Grooming time percent is grooming duration / session duration x 100. Mean bout length is grooming duration / grooming bout count. Cephalocaudal grooming sequences are summarized as raw counts. Group summaries use animal-level values and SEM.
Last validated 2026-04-30. Calculations are designed for planning and documentation support; verify procurement decisions against manufacturer specifications or institutional SOPs.
ConductScience Self-Grooming Scorer (v1.0). ConductScience, Inc. 2026. Available at: https://conductscience.com/tools/self-grooming-scorer
This tool performs descriptive calculations on user-entered grooming scores. It does not replace protocol-specific ethogram definitions, exclusion rules, or statistical analysis.
Rodent self-grooming can be scored as total duration, bout structure, and ordered cephalocaudal sequences. In autism-relevant phenotyping, elevated grooming is often interpreted as repetitive or stereotyped behavior when protocol context supports that interpretation.
Grooming time percent is total grooming duration divided by session duration x 100. Mean bout length is grooming duration divided by bout count. Sequence counts are reported as raw event counts and summarized by group.
Use fixed scoring windows, matched arena novelty, consistent bedding or floor surface, and blinded observers. Report strain, age, sex, lighting, acclimation, and whether grooming was manually scored or video assisted.
Neutral arena for self-grooming and spontaneous behavior observation
Browse EquipmentUse video automation to support grooming event detection and audit trails
Browse EquipmentPair repetitive-behavior scoring with an anxiety-like behavior measure
Browse EquipmentAdd another anxiety-related endpoint to the same behavioral battery
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