The Hole-Board Test in Mutant Mice
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Updated: Sep 25, 2025
The Modified Hole Board - Measuring Behavior, Cognition and Social Interaction in Mice and Rats
Published on: April 8, 2015
Robert Lalonde1, Catherine Strazielle2,3
1Laboratory of Stress, Immunity, Pathogens (EA7300), Medical School, University of Lorraine, 54500, Vandœuvre-les-Nancy, France.
Abstract:
First described by Boissier and Simon in (Ther Recreat J 17:1225-1232, 1962), the hole-board has become a recognized test of anxiety and spatial memory. Benzodiazepines acting at the GABAA-BZD site increase hole-pokes in rats and mice, indicating a loss in behavioral inhibition concordant with the behavior of mutant mice deficient in the GABA transporter. Hole-poking also depends on arousal mechanisms dependent on dopaminergic transmission, as indicated by drug and null mutant studies. In addition, the behavior is modified in natural and null mutants affecting the cerebellum as well as null mutants affecting neuropeptides, growth factors, cell adhesion, and inflammation. Further research is required to determine convergences between genetic and pharmacological effects.
