[Assessment of anxiolytics (5)--Vogel-type conflict task in mice]

The Vogel-type conflict task, in which drinking of water by animals is punished by electric shock, is well known as a simple conflict procedure, and has come into wide use. This task has almost been established in rats. On the other hand, there are only few reports about application of the task to mice, and such studies have not proceeded smoothly. This report presents technical problems in the application of the task to mice based on various experiments, in which experimental conditions such as procedures, intensity of electric shock and mouse strain differed, in order to determine the anti-conflict action of diazepam (DZ). These experiments showed that successful detection of DZ action depended upon the experimental conditions. Therefore, experimental designs are important in evaluating anti-conflict action of chemicals in the Vogel-type task in mice.