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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
05:05
The Successive Alleys Test of Anxiety in Mice and Rats
Published on: June 17, 2013
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Relationship between anxiety and tinnitus development in a rat model.
Jack W Zimdahl1, Kady J Braack1, Jennifer Rodger2
1School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
Behavioural Brain Research
|September 6, 2025
Summary
Early life stress, modeled by dexamethasone exposure, increased anxiety in rats. Animals with higher anxiety before acoustic trauma showed tinnitus signs, suggesting anxiety influences tinnitus susceptibility.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory Science
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Tinnitus affects 15% of people and is linked to hearing loss.
- Anxiety may contribute to tinnitus due to shared neural pathways between auditory and limbic systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the impact of stress-induced anxiety on tinnitus development.
- Utilize a rat model with early life stress to explore anxiety's role in tinnitus.
Main Methods:
- Neonatal dexamethasone (DEX) exposure to induce anxiety-like behavior.
- Acoustic trauma (AT) exposure to assess tinnitus development.
- Behavioral tests (acoustic startle, Elevated Plus Maze) and neuronal recordings in the medial geniculate nucleus.
Main Results:
- DEX exposure increased anxiety-like behavior in acoustic startle tests.
- No difference in tinnitus proportion between DEX and control groups.
- Tinnitus development correlated with higher pre-trauma anxiety levels.
- Tinnitus rats showed altered neuronal firing rates in the medial geniculate nucleus.
Conclusions:
- Anxiety is linked to tinnitus susceptibility, not necessarily its development.
- Findings support clinical observations of anxiety-tinnitus correlation.
- Early life stress may prime neural circuits for tinnitus development.
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