Bridges N J, Starkey N J
Department of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK.
Physiol Behav. 2004 Oct 30;83(1):119-27. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2004.08.002.
Animal models or test paradigms for predominantly female disorders, such as anxiety, often use only male animals, with little or no investigation of sex differences. Thus, this study was conducted to compare the behaviour of males and females in four widely used tests of anxiety. The behaviour of male and female Mongolian gerbils was assessed in the elevated plus maze (EPM), black-white box (BWB), open-field and social interaction tests. In the elevated plus maze, females spent proportionally less time in the centre square and greater time in the closed arms compared with males. In the black-white box, they showed significantly greater entries into the black compartment, whilst in the open field, females spent less time sniffing the arena compared with males. Thus, in these three models, there are no conclusive sex differences in anxiety-like behaviour. However, in the social interaction test, females showed more exploratory/cage-orientated behaviour and less active social and aggressive behaviour. In addition, females terminated social contact more frequently. These results can be interpreted as true sex differences, as behaviour in the open-field and social interaction tests did not differ across the oestrous cycle. In conclusion, the results show that sex differences in anxiety-like behaviour in gerbils are best detected using the social interaction test, which suggests that females show a more anxious profile. It also further highlights the need for sex differences to be investigated in tests of anxiety.
针对以女性为主的疾病（如焦虑症）的动物模型或测试范式，通常仅使用雄性动物，很少或根本没有对性别差异进行研究。因此，本研究旨在比较雄性和雌性在四种广泛使用的焦虑测试中的行为表现。在高架十字迷宫（EPM）、黑白箱（BWB）、旷场实验和社交互动测试中评估了雄性和雌性蒙古沙鼠的行为。在高架十字迷宫中，与雄性相比，雌性在中央方块中停留的时间比例较少，而在封闭臂中停留的时间较长。在黑白箱中，它们进入黑色隔间的次数明显更多，而在旷场实验中，与雄性相比，雌性嗅探场地的时间较少。因此，在这三种模型中，焦虑样行为没有确凿的性别差异。然而，在社交互动测试中，雌性表现出更多的探索性/笼边定向行为，而积极的社交和攻击行为较少。此外，雌性更频繁地终止社交接触。这些结果可被解释为真正的性别差异，因为在旷场实验和社交互动测试中的行为在整个发情周期中没有差异。总之，结果表明，使用社交互动测试最能检测出沙鼠焦虑样行为中的性别差异，这表明雌性表现出更焦虑的特征。这也进一步凸显了在焦虑测试中研究性别差异的必要性。
