ANY-maze Help > The ANY-maze reference > The Protocol page > The elements of a protocol > Behaviour > Zones > Setting up a zone > Specifying how close to a zone the animal must be to be investigating it

Specifying how close to a zone the animal must be to be investigating it

In brief

When the animal's head is within the specified distance of the investigation zone ANY-maze will consider that it is investigating it, provided the other investigation criteria (orientation and not being in the zone) are also met.

Details

ANY-maze uses the distance of the animal's head to the closest point on the zone's border to determine how close the animal is to the zone. If this distance is less than or equal to the distance you specify here, then this criteria for investigation will be met (although the animal may or may not be considered to be investigating the zone depending on the other criteria you have set).

The distance you specify should include units of m (metres), cm (centimetres) or mm (millimetres) and can include a decimal point, for example '2.5cm'. ANY-maze will draw a dotted line at this distance from the borders of the zone, so you can see the 'investigation area'.

Note that when drawing the apparatus map, you should draw tightly around any object or zone that you want ANY-maze to score investigation for, because the investigation area is measured from the borders of the zone's areas.

Limits

You MUST enter a distance. It can be any value from 1mm to 10m

See also:

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ANY-maze help topic T0330