Elevated Plus Maze
Objective: Anxiety assessment test measuring mouse exploration of open and closed arms on an elevated maze
This is a Elevated Plus Maze protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 3 procedural steps, 3 equipment items, 6 materials. Extracted from a 2011 paper published in Nature.
Model and subjects
mouse • C57Bl/6:CD-1 mixed background, with transgenic v-WT and v-TK mice • male • 8 weeks at treatment start; tested at various timepoints (12 weeks treatment duration for behavior) • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
~19 week study window | ~1 hours hands-on
Core workflow
Animal treatment initiation • Behavioral testing preparation • Elevated plus maze testing
Primary readouts
- Exploration of open arms (anxiety indicator)
- Exploration of closed arms
- Time spent in each arm
- Frequency of arm entries
Key equipment and reagents
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Protocol Steps
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Animal treatment initiation
Male v-WT and v-TK transgenic mice begin valganciclovir treatment at 8 weeks of age
Note: Different treatment durations for different experiments (8 weeks for dexamethasone, 10-19 weeks for endocrine, 12 weeks for behavior, 4 weeks for histology)
View evidence from paper
“Male v-WT and v-TK mice were treated with valganciclovir for 8 weeks (dexamethasone experiment), 10-19 weeks (endocrine), 12 weeks (behavior) or 4 weeks (histology), beginning at 8 weeks of age”
Behavioral testing preparation
Mice undergo 30 minutes of restraint or are tested directly from home cage prior to behavioral testing
Note: Different cohorts tested in different behavioral tests
View evidence from paper
“Behavioral tests were performed following 30 min of restraint or directly from the home cage”
Elevated plus maze testing
Mice are placed in elevated plus maze to assess anxiety-related behavior through exploration of open and closed arms
Note: Part of behavioral test battery; different cohorts used for different tests
View evidence from paper
“Different cohorts of mice were tested in the NSF test, elevated plus maze, forced swim test and sucrose preference test as previously described”