ABSTRACT
Animal tests of anxiety are used to screen novel compounds for anxiolytic or anxiogenic activity, to investigate the neurobiology of anxiety, and to assess the impact of other occurrences such as exposure to predator odors or early rearing experiences. This unit presents protocols for the most commonly used animal tests of anxiety. The Geller-Seifter conflict test, the social interaction test, light/dark exploration, the elevated plus-maze, defensive burying, and the thirsty rat conflict. The protocols are described in terms of drug screening tests, but can be modified easily for other purposes.
Subject(s)
Anti-Anxiety Agents/pharmacology , Anxiety/chemically induced , Anxiety/drug therapy , Psychological Tests , Animals , Behavior, Animal , Conditioning, Operant/drug effects , Conflict, Psychological , Darkness , Disease Models, Animal , Drug Evaluation, Preclinical/methods , Exploratory Behavior/drug effects , Gerbillinae , Humans , Lighting , Male , Maze Learning/drug effects , Rats , Social Behavior , Thirst/drug effectsABSTRACT
Animal tests of anxiety are used to screen novel compounds for anxiolytic or anxiogenic activity, to investigate the neurobiology of anxiety, and to assess the impact of other occurrences such as exposure to predator odors or early rearing experiences. This unit presents protocols for the most commonly used animal tests of anxiety. The Geller-Seifter conflict test, the social interaction test, light/dark exploration, the elevated plus-maze, defensive burying, and the thirsty rat conflict. The protocols are described in terms of drug screening tests, but can be modified easily for other purposes.
