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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Optogenetic Manipulation of Neuronal Activity to Modulate Behavior in Freely Moving Mice
Published on: October 27, 2020
Environmental modulation of anxiety-related neuronal activity and behaviors
András Bilkei-Gorzó1, Martin Otto, Andreas Zimmer
1Institute of Molecular Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53125 Bonn, Germany.
Abstract:
Enkephalin-deficient knockout mice, a genetic model of enhanced anxiety responses, and wild-type controls were housed in two separate facilities on the same campus using different caging systems. Stress reactivity was evaluated in these animals using a zero-maze test followed by c-Fos expression analysis in limbic brain regions. Animals with genetically or pharmacologically enhanced anxiety reared and tested in the same facility displayed similar behavioral reactivity and c-Fos induction. However, we found much stronger anxiety-related behavioral responses and higher c-Fos levels when animals were house in individually ventilated cages, independent of their genetic background.
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