Open field test

How 11 papers set up this test.

AI read these papers and code checked every quote. No person has reviewed the records yet. How records are made

Arena size

Inner dimensions of the arena (floor and wall height)

Paper	Value	Paper’s words
Kodali et al. 2024Rats	100 cm × 100 cm	“a brightly lit open field apparatus (100 cm × 100 cm Plexiglas open field box)”
Liu et al. 2024Mice	27.3 cm × 27.3 cm square base with 20.3 cm high walls	“A clear box (27.3 cm × 27.3 cm square base with 20.3 cm high walls) was used for the open field test”
Wen et al. 2024Mice	16″×16.5″×12″	“a custom made chamber (16″×16.5″×12″)”
Li et al. 2023Mice	45 cm × 45 cm × 30 cm	“a white opaque arena of 45 cm × 45 cm × 30 cm in size”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	40 × 40 cm	“a standardized arena of 40 × 40 cm”
Somebang et al. 2021Mice	40 × 40 inches	“inside a plexiglass enclosure (40 × 40 inches)”
Drapeau et al. 2018Mice	45 × 45 cm	“Mice were tested in an open field (45 × 45 cm)”
Sengupta et al. 2016Mice	diameter 36 cm	“A circular open‐field arena was constructed in house with diameter 36 cm”
Vanderplow et al. 2022Rats	Unclear 60-cm length × 60-cm width × 40-cm height The open field section gives no arena. This is the only box called an open field box, but it is described for the novel object recognition test and the passages do not say the open field test used it.	“The recognition test was performed in a gray open field box (60-cm length × 60-cm width × 40-cm height)”
Puech et al. 2025Mice	Cited to other work No chamber dimensions are printed. One passage makes this test the habituation phase of the NOR test, and another passage sends the reader to other work for the NOR test.	“The NOR test has been previously extensively described [32,64,65,70]”

Not in the Methods of Rattner et al. 2020.

Session duration

How long one session in the apparatus lasts

Paper	Value	Paper’s words
Puech et al. 2025Mice	10 min	“The animals were allowed to explore the open field for 10 min” “The habituation phase allows mice to explore the open field for 10 min”
Kodali et al. 2024Rats	5 min	“Their movements were recorded using the Any-maze video tracking system for 5 min”
Liu et al. 2024Mice	1 h	“Movements were recorded (Med Associates, ENV-510) for 1 h in 5 min bins”
Wen et al. 2024Mice	10 min	“Activity was recorded for 10 min for each animal once a day for two consecutive days”
Li et al. 2023Mice	5 min	“The open field test consisted of 5 min trial”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	6–10 min	“Each mouse was placed individually for 6–10 min in the square black plastic chamber”
Somebang et al. 2021Mice	10 min/day	“Animals were tested for 10 min/day for two days.”
Drapeau et al. 2018Mice	60 min	“Each mouse was allowed to explore the apparatus for 60 min”
Sengupta et al. 2016Mice	In the dark 2 min After light was switched on 2 min	“Their activity was recorded for 2 min followed by 2 min of illumination of the chamber” “tracked for 2 min in the dark and for 2 min after light was switched on”
Vanderplow et al. 2022Rats	Habituation Unclear 10 minutes The open field section gives no duration. This is the habituation phase of the novel object recognition test, and the passages do not say whether this empty-box exposure is the open field test.	“rats were placed in the right corner of the open field box and allowed to explore the box devoid of objects for 10 minutes”

Not in the Methods of Rattner et al. 2020.

Illumination

Light level in or over the apparatus during testing

Paper	Value	Paper’s words
Kodali et al. 2024Rats	brightly lit	“individually placed in the center of a brightly lit open field apparatus”
Wen et al. 2024Mice	110–130 lux	“All testing was conducted under 110–130 lux of lighting across the chamber”
Sengupta et al. 2016Mice	Upon LED illumination ~10^15 photons cm^−2 s^−1	“The irradiance of the open field upon LED illumination was ~10^15 photons cm^−2 s^−1”
Puech et al. 2025Mice	Cited to other work No light level is printed. One passage makes this test the habituation phase of the NOR test, and another passage sends the reader to other work for the NOR test.	“The NOR test has been previously extensively described [32,64,65,70]”

Not in the Methods of Liu et al. 2024, Li et al. 2023, Talalai et al. 2023, Vanderplow et al. 2022, Somebang et al. 2021, Rattner et al. 2020, Drapeau et al. 2018.

Center zone size

Size of the area scored as the center of the arena

Paper	Value	Paper’s words
Wen et al. 2024Mice	a length and width half the length and width of the chamber	“The center of the open field was defined as the central zone with a length and width half the length and width of the chamber”
Li et al. 2023Mice	Unclear nine square quadrants Time is scored in the central quadrant of an arena divided into nine equal squares, which implies a center of one ninth of the floor, but no size for the center zone is printed.	“The test arena was divided equally into nine square quadrants” “the time spent in the central quadrant of the open field”

Not in the Methods of Puech et al. 2025, Kodali et al. 2024, Liu et al. 2024, Talalai et al. 2023, Vanderplow et al. 2022, Somebang et al. 2021, Rattner et al. 2020, Drapeau et al. 2018, Sengupta et al. 2016.

Other settings the papers report (54)

Settings outside the list above, named as each paper names them.

Paper	Setting and value	Paper’s words
Sengupta et al. 2016Mice	590‐nm LED light sources Ten	“Ten 590‐nm LED light sources”
Wen et al. 2024Mice	Activity was recorded once a day for two consecutive days	“Activity was recorded for 10 min for each animal once a day for two consecutive days”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	After the injection, Day 3 two days	“in the open field paradigm, two days after the injection (Day 3)”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	After the injection, Day 5 four days	“conducting the behavioral paradigm four days after the injection (Day 5)”
Somebang et al. 2021Mice	Animals were tested two days	“Animals were tested for 10 min/day for two days.”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	Apparatus was cleaned, between sessions 70% ethanol	“The apparatus was cleaned with 70% ethanol between sessions”
Li et al. 2023Mice	Arena white opaque	“a white opaque arena”
Drapeau et al. 2018Mice	Behavioral experiments were conducted between 9 A.M. and 5 P.M.	“Behavioral experiments were conducted between 9 A.M. and 5 P.M.”
Liu et al. 2024Mice	Bins 5 min bins	“Movements were recorded (Med Associates, ENV-510) for 1 h in 5 min bins”
Kodali et al. 2024Rats	Blinded to group identification of animals or samples	“The investigators who performed the neurobehavioral tests, immunohistochemical or immunofluorescence quantifications, as well as biochemical assays remained blinded to group identification of animals or samples”
Puech et al. 2025Mice	Chamber blue opaque open-field plastic	“a blue opaque open-field plastic chamber”
Wen et al. 2024Mice	Chamber opaque black walls and white floor	“a custom made chamber (16″×16.5″×12″) with opaque black walls and white floor”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	Chamber square black plastic	“in the square black plastic chamber”
Puech et al. 2025Mice	Cleaned with 70% ethanol	“the experimental set-ups were cleaned with 70% ethanol to prevent odor cues”
Puech et al. 2025Mice	Conducted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.	“conducted by three observers between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.”
Sengupta et al. 2016Mice	Dark adapted 30 min	“blind rd1 control mice were dark adapted for 30 min before being placed in the center”
Vanderplow et al. 2022Rats	Experimenter blinded to conditions	“flagged by an experimenter blinded to conditions”
Rattner et al. 2020Mice	Experimenters blind to the genotype	“During all behavioral testing, the experimenters were blind to the genotype”
Wen et al. 2024Mice	Habituated in the testing room at least 30 min	“All animals were habituated in the testing room at least 30 min before testing starts”
Liu et al. 2024Mice	Habituated to the test room at least 20 min	“Before testing, mice were habituated to the test room for at least 20 min.”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	Habituation day 2	“day 2—habituation”
Kodali et al. 2024Rats	Individually placed in the center	“The rats from different groups were individually placed in the center of a brightly lit open field apparatus”
Sengupta et al. 2016Mice	LED light sources 590‐nm	“Ten 590‐nm LED light sources”
Puech et al. 2025Mice	Locomotor activity monitored the first 5 min	“with locomotor activity monitored during the first 5 min”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	Made from inert plastic	“made from inert plastic”
Drapeau et al. 2018Mice	Measures were recorded 10-min intervals	“Measures were recorded in 10-min intervals”
Drapeau et al. 2018Mice	Mice were brought to the front room of the testing area at least half an hour	“Mice were brought to the front room of the testing area at least half an hour before the start of experiments”
Kodali et al. 2024Rats	Neurobehavioral tasks during the daytime	“animals in all groups were tested with a series of neurobehavioral tasks during the daytime”
Puech et al. 2025Mice	Observers three	“conducted by three observers between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.”
Kodali et al. 2024Rats	Open field box Plexiglas	“100 cm × 100 cm Plexiglas open field box”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	Open field second run, second run day 5	“day 5—open field second run”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	Open field test first run, first run day 3	“day 3—open field test first run”
Puech et al. 2025Mice	Operators blinded to the exposure	“performed by operators who were blinded to the exposure”
Wen et al. 2024Mice	Order of tests Day 1–2	“Day 1–2, open field”
Puech et al. 2025Mice	Placed in the center	“mice were placed in the center of a blue opaque open-field plastic chamber”
Wen et al. 2024Mice	Placed in the center	“Each mouse was placed in the center of a custom made chamber”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	Placed individually	“Each mouse was placed individually”
Sengupta et al. 2016Mice	Placed in the center	“blind rd1 control mice were dark adapted for 30 min before being placed in the center”
Talalai et al. 2023Mice	Placed in the experimental room, prior to the test one hour	“all the animals were placed in the experimental room one hour prior to the test”
Li et al. 2023Mice	Placed into the central quadrant of the open field	“Each mouse was placed into the central quadrant of the open field”
Somebang et al. 2021Mice	Post-TBI 3 weeks	“starting at 3 weeks post-TBI”
Puech et al. 2025Mice	Recorded from a vertical point of view	“The tests were recorded from a vertical point of view with a video camera suspended above the experimental area”
Wen et al. 2024Mice	Rest in between tests at least a 1-day	“Animals were given at least a 1-day rest in between tests”
Sengupta et al. 2016Mice	Run during the dark phase of the mice between 18 and 21 h	“All behavior experiments were run during the dark phase of the mice between 18 and 21 h”
Drapeau et al. 2018Mice	Spontaneous grooming bouts 10 first minutes	“spontaneous grooming bouts observed during the 10 first minutes of the open field test”
Liu et al. 2024Mice	Start position in the center of the box	“Mice were placed in the center of the box at the start of the assay.”
Kodali et al. 2024Rats	Tested with a series of neurobehavioral tasks Starting from the 11th week after VEH/CBD treatment	“Starting from the 11th week after VEH/CBD treatment, animals in all groups were tested with a series of neurobehavioral tasks”
Liu et al. 2024Mice	The center zone 36% of the total area	“the center zone was 36% of the total area”
Vanderplow et al. 2022Rats	The order from first to last Y-maze, open field, novel object recognition, social interaction, and social novelty	“with the order from first to last as the following: Y-maze, open field, novel object recognition, social interaction, and social novelty”
Sengupta et al. 2016Mice	Video camera night vision mode	“Activity in the arena was recorded during the test by a video camera (Handycam, Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) in night vision mode”
Vanderplow et al. 2022Rats	Video playback 0.3 real-time speed	“During video playback in AnyMaze at 0.3 real-time speed”
Drapeau et al. 2018Mice	Virtually divided into central and peripheral regions	“virtually divided into central and peripheral regions”
Drapeau et al. 2018Mice	Wall rears while touching a side of the open field	“wall rears (while touching a side of the open field)”
Vanderplow et al. 2022Rats	Zones outer, middle, and center zones	“After establishing the location of outer, middle, and center zones”

Apparatus

What each paper names for this test. Vendors and models appear as the paper prints them.

Paper	Apparatus	Paper’s words
Puech et al. 2025	Video camera	“The tests were recorded from a vertical point of view with a video camera suspended above the experimental area”
Puech et al. 2025	Noldus Ethovision XT17 Software	“All the experiments were interfaced with a video tracking system (Noldus Ethovision XT17 Software, Leesburg, VA, USA)”
Puech et al. 2025	Blue opaque open-field plastic chamber	“mice were placed in the center of a blue opaque open-field plastic chamber”
Kodali et al. 2024	Any-maze video tracking system	“Their movements were recorded using the Any-maze video tracking system for 5 min”
Kodali et al. 2024	Open field apparatus	“a brightly lit open field apparatus (100 cm × 100 cm Plexiglas open field box)”
Liu et al. 2024	Clear box	“A clear box (27.3 cm × 27.3 cm square base with 20.3 cm high walls) was used for the open field test”
Liu et al. 2024	Med Associates, ENV-510	“Movements were recorded (Med Associates, ENV-510) for 1 h in 5 min bins”
Wen et al. 2024	EthoVision XT 17 system Noldus Information Technology	“EthoVision XT 17 system (Noldus Information Technology, Wageningen, Netherlands)”
Wen et al. 2024	Custom made chamber	“a custom made chamber (16″×16.5″×12″)”
Li et al. 2023	White opaque arena Maze Engineers, Boston, USA	“a white opaque arena of 45 cm × 45 cm × 30 cm in size (Maze Engineers, Boston, USA)”
Li et al. 2023	Camera	“was recorded by the camera”
Li et al. 2023	ANY-mazeTM video-tracking software Stoelting Co., Chicago, IL, USA	“analyzed using ANY-mazeTM video-tracking software (Stoelting Co., Chicago, IL, USA)”
Talalai et al. 2023	Standardized arena Maze Engineers, Skokie, IL, USA	“a standardized arena of 40 × 40 cm made from inert plastic (Maze Engineers, Skokie, IL, USA)”
Talalai et al. 2023	Camera	“Mice movements were recorded using a camera”
Talalai et al. 2023	EthoVision XT Noldus, Wageningen, The Netherlands	“movement tracking and automatic scoring were performed using EthoVision XT 11.5 (Noldus, Wageningen, The Netherlands) software”
Vanderplow et al. 2022	Overhead digital video camera	“All animal behaviors were videotaped with an overhead digital video camera.”
Vanderplow et al. 2022	AnyMaze video tracking software Wood Dale, IL, USA	“locomotor behavior was semiautomatically analyzed using AnyMaze video tracking software (Wood Dale, IL, USA)”
Somebang et al. 2021	Plexiglass enclosure	“inside a plexiglass enclosure (40 × 40 inches)”
Somebang et al. 2021	Automated infrared photocells	“surrounded by automated infrared photocells”
Somebang et al. 2021	Computer	“connected to a computer with KinderScientific software”
Somebang et al. 2021	KinderScientific software Hamilton & Kinder	“KinderScientific software (Hamilton & Kinder) to record data”
Drapeau et al. 2018	Noldus Ethovision	“Animal activity was recorded by video tracking (Noldus Ethovision)”
Drapeau et al. 2018	Open field	“Mice were tested in an open field (45 × 45 cm)”
Sengupta et al. 2016	Circular open‐field arena	“A circular open‐field arena was constructed in house with diameter 36 cm using an aluminum sheet folded in a circle placed over a plexiglass base (similar to the one described in Polosukhina et al, 2012).”
Sengupta et al. 2016	590‐nm LED light sources Lumitronix, Graefelfing, Germany, Cree XP‐E	“Ten 590‐nm LED light sources (Cree XP‐E, Lumitronix, Graefelfing, Germany) were glued to the wall of the open‐field arena.”
Sengupta et al. 2016	Handheld spectrophotometer Thorlabs, Germany, PM100D	“as measured approximately at the level of the mice's eyes using a handheld spectrophotometer (PM100D, Thorlabs, Germany)”
Sengupta et al. 2016	Video camera Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, Handycam	“Activity in the arena was recorded during the test by a video camera (Handycam, Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) in night vision mode.”
Sengupta et al. 2016	Ethovision XT Noldus Information Technology, Leesburg, VA	“The movies were analyzed using mouse behavior phenotyping and motion tracking software Ethovision XT build 8.0 (Noldus Information Technology, Leesburg, VA).”

No apparatus named in Rattner et al. 2020.