Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Hoffman Street, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
MRC Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, North-West University, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2019 Feb;19(1):1-39. doi: 10.3758/s13415-018-00653-4.
Rodent marble-burying behavior in the marble-burying test (MBT) is employed as a model or measure to study anxiety- and compulsive-like behaviors or anxiolytic and anticompulsive drug action. However, the test responds variably to a range of pharmacological interventions, and little consensus exists regarding specific methodologies for its execution. Regardless, the test is widely applied to investigate the effects of pharmacological, genetic, and behavioral manipulations on purported behaviors related to the said neuropsychiatric constructs. Therefore, in the present review we attempt to expound the collective translational significance of the MBT. We do this by (1) reviewing burying behavior as a natural behavioral phenotype, (2) highlighting key aspects of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder from a translational perspective, (3) reviewing the history and proof of concept of the MBT, (4) critically appraising potential methodological confounds in execution of the MBT, and (5) dissecting responses of the MBT to various pharmacological interventions. We conclude by underlining that the collective translational value of the MBT will be strengthened by contextually valid experimental designs and objective reporting of data.
在埋珠实验（MBT）中，啮齿动物的埋珠行为被用作研究焦虑和强迫样行为或抗焦虑和抗强迫药物作用的模型或指标。然而，该测试对一系列药理学干预的反应各不相同，对于其执行的具体方法学几乎没有共识。尽管如此，该测试被广泛应用于研究药理学、遗传学和行为操作对所谓的与所述神经精神结构相关的行为的影响。因此，在本综述中，我们试图阐述 MBT 的集体转化意义。我们通过以下方式实现这一点：（1）审查作为自然行为表型的埋珠行为，（2）从转化的角度强调焦虑和强迫症的关键方面，（3）审查 MBT 的历史和概念验证，（4）批判性地评估执行 MBT 时可能存在的方法学混淆因素，以及（5）剖析 MBT 对各种药理学干预的反应。我们的结论是，通过上下文有效的实验设计和客观报告数据，MBT 的集体转化价值将得到加强。
