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Use of the Open Field Maze to Measure Locomotor and Anxiety-like Behavior in Mice
Published on: February 6, 2015
What are we measuring when we test strain differences in anxiety in mice?
Timothy P O'Leary1, Rhian K Gunn, Richard E Brown
1Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.
Behavior Genetics
|January 5, 2013
Summary
Locomotor activity is a reliable trait across mouse strains and testing conditions. However, anxiety-like behaviors measured by common tests vary, suggesting a need for improved methods to study genetic anxiety correlates.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Genetics
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Inbred mouse strains are crucial models for studying the genetic basis of behavior.
- Anxiety-like behaviors are complex and their measurement can be influenced by various factors.
- Understanding reliable behavioral measures is essential for genetic research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate strain differences in locomotor and anxiety-like behaviors across three common testing apparatuses.
- To determine the reliability and commonality of anxiety and locomotor measures in inbred mice.
- To identify the most stable and informative behavioral measures for genetic studies of anxiety.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated 15 inbred mouse strains on the elevated-plus maze, light/dark transition box, and open field.
- Measured locomotor activity and anxiety-related behaviors, including species-typical behaviors.
- Utilized principal component analysis to identify common behavioral factors.
Main Results:
- Significant strain differences were observed for both locomotor activity and anxiety-like behaviors.
- Locomotor activity measures were highly correlated across apparatuses, indicating a stable trait.
- Anxiety measures showed poor correlation, suggesting they capture different aspects of anxiety.
- Species-typical behaviors accounted for a smaller proportion of variance compared to locomotor activity.
Conclusions:
- Locomotor activity is a reliable and genetically influenced trait in mice, consistently measured across different tests and labs.
- Current anxiety tests may measure distinct facets of anxiety, limiting the identification of a common anxiety factor.
- Species-typical behaviors may offer a more reliable reflection of anxiety traits in inbred mouse strains.
- Novel approaches are needed to accurately measure trait anxiety for determining its neural and genetic underpinnings.
