Open field test as a method for ethology in Kunming mice: three behavioral dimensions by factor analysis / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the behavioral dimensions of the open field test ( OFF),as a method for ethology in Kunming mice.Methods The behavior of adult,male,Kunming mice in OFF was recorded twice,for five minutes,with a one-week inter-trial interval.The following parameters were evaluated by factor analysis:percentage of time exploring in the central area (Ctime％); percentage of squares crossing in the central area (Ccross％) ; total number of squares crossing in the whole apparatus(Cross) ; total number of rears in the whole apparatus(Rear) ; and number of fecal boli(FB).Results There were good intercorrelation and intracorrelation between test and retest for Ctime％,Ccross％,Cross and Rear.Ctime％ and Ccross％ had significant loadings on “Anxiety” factor ( Loading％43.34％,48.56％ ) ; Cross and Rear loaded on “locomotor-Exploration” factor ( Loading％27.94％,29.30％ ) ; and FB loaded on “Emotionality” factor ( Loading％21.95％,15.93％ ).A good correlation was found between test and retest for anxiety factor and locomtor-exploration factor.Conclusion Open field test,as a method for ethology in Kunming mice,comprise three behavioral dimensionsanxiety factor,OFF-activity factor(locomotor-exploration) and emotionality factor.