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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
Optogenetic Manipulation of Neuronal Activity to Modulate Behavior in Freely Moving Mice
Published on: October 27, 2020
ROCK inhibition produces anxiety-related behaviors in mice
Akiyoshi Saitoh1, Mitsuhiko Yamada, Misa Yamada
1Department of Pathophysiology and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hoshi University, Tokyo, 142-8501, Japan.
Rationale:
The role of Rho/Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) in regulating dendritic and axonal morphology during development has gained much attention. Very little is known, however, about the role of the Rho/ROCK pathway in emotional behavior.
Objective:
To investigate the role of ROCK in emotional behaviors. We examined how the ROCK inhibitor Y27632 affects the performance of mice on three behavioral tests that measure anxiety-related behaviors.
Results:
In the elevated plus-maze test, Y27632 (10 nmol, intracerebroventricular) induced a significant decrease in the percentage of time spent in the open arms and in the percentage of entries into open arms. In the fear conditioning test, Y27632-treated mice froze significantly more often and longer than did saline-treated mice. In the hole-board test, Y27632 significantly suppressed head-dipping behavior in Y27632-treated mice than in saline-treated mice. On the other hand, Y27632 did not produce on spontaneous alteration performance in the Y-maze test. These results indicate that ROCK inhibition increased anxiety-related behaviors.
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that the ROCK pathway is involved in the expression of anxiety- and fear-related behaviors. Furthermore, we propose that if the Rho/ROCK pathway plays an important role in mediating anxiety-related behaviors in humans, it may prove to be a novel system for anxiolytics to target.
