Walf Alicia A, Frye Cheryl A
Department of Psychology, The University at Albany-SUNY, Albany, New York, USA.
Nat Protoc. 2007;2(2):322-8. doi: 10.1038/nprot.2007.44.
The elevated plus maze is a widely used behavioral assay for rodents and it has been validated to assess the anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones, and to define brain regions and mechanisms underlying anxiety-related behavior. Briefly, rats or mice are placed at the junction of the four arms of the maze, facing an open arm, and entries/duration in each arm are recorded by a video-tracking system and observer simultaneously for 5 min. Other ethological parameters (i.e., rears, head dips and stretched-attend postures) can also be observed. An increase in open arm activity (duration and/or entries) reflects anti-anxiety behavior. In our laboratory, rats or mice are exposed to the plus maze on one occasion; thus, results can be obtained in 5 min per rodent.
高架十字迷宫是一种广泛用于啮齿动物的行为学检测方法,已被证实可用于评估药物制剂和类固醇激素的抗焦虑作用,并确定与焦虑相关行为的脑区和机制。简要地说,将大鼠或小鼠放置在迷宫四个臂的交界处,面对开放臂,通过视频跟踪系统和观察者同时记录每只臂中的进入次数/持续时间,持续5分钟。还可以观察其他行为学参数(即直立、头部下垂和伸展关注姿势)。开放臂活动的增加(持续时间和/或进入次数)反映抗焦虑行为。在我们实验室,大鼠或小鼠只进行一次高架十字迷宫实验;因此,每只啮齿动物5分钟内即可获得结果。