Elevated Plus-Maze
Objective: Assessment of anxiety-like behavior by measuring time spent in open arms versus closed arms of an elevated plus-maze
This is a Elevated Plus-Maze protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 8 procedural steps, 4 equipment items. Extracted from a 1997 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
rat • not specified • not specified • adult • not specified • not specified
Study window
~3 week study window
Core workflow
Prenatal Stress Manipulation • Postnatal Handling Manipulation • Elevated Plus-Maze Test
Primary readouts
- Time spent in open arms of elevated plus-maze
- Number of visits to different arms in Y-maze
- Distance covered in open field
- Time spent in corners of open field
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
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Protocol Steps
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Prenatal Stress Manipulation
Pregnant rat dams were subjected to stress during the last week of gestation as an environmental manipulation
Note: This is one of two environmental manipulations used to create different behavioral phenotypes
View evidence from paper
“prenatal stress of rat dams during the last week of gestation”
Postnatal Handling Manipulation
Rat pups received daily handling during the first 3 weeks of life as a second environmental manipulation
Note: This manipulation was used as a contrasting environmental condition to prenatal stress
View evidence from paper
“postnatal daily handling of rat pups during the first 3 weeks of life”
Elevated Plus-Maze Test
Adult offspring were tested on the elevated plus-maze to measure anxiety-like behavior through time spent in open arms
Note: This is one of four behavioral parameters used to evaluate reactivity to novelty
View evidence from paper
“the time spent in the open arms of an elevated plus-maze”
Y-Maze Test
Adult offspring were tested in a Y-maze to measure the number of visits to different arms as an indicator of behavioral reactivity
Note: First of four behavioral parameters for evaluating reactivity to novelty
View evidence from paper
“the number of visits to different arms in a Y-maze”
Open Field Test
Adult offspring were tested in an open field to measure distance covered and time spent in corners
Note: Two of four behavioral parameters measured: distance covered and time in corners
View evidence from paper
“the distance covered in an open field, the time spent in the corners of the open field”
Water Maze Test
Adult offspring were tested in a water maze to assess spatial learning and memory performance
Note: Cognitive performance assessment
View evidence from paper
“Cognitive performance was assessed using a water maze and a two-trial memory test”
Two-Trial Memory Test
Adult offspring underwent a two-trial memory test to assess memory performance
Note: Second cognitive performance assessment
View evidence from paper
“Cognitive performance was assessed using a water maze and a two-trial memory test”
Corticosterone Measurement
Stress-induced corticosterone secretion was measured in adult offspring to correlate with behavioral outcomes
Note: Physiological measurement correlated with behavioral reactivity
View evidence from paper
“correlated with stress-induced corticosterone secretion”