Source 1primary paper2007Nature Protocols
Toolkit/Elevated plus maze
Elevated plus maze
Also known as: EPM
Taxonomy: Technique Branch / Method. Workflows sit above the mechanism and technique branches rather than replacing them.
Summary
The elevated plus maze is a widely used behavioral assay for rodents...
Usefulness & Problems
Why this is useful
The elevated plus maze is a rodent behavioral assay in which rats or mice are placed at the junction of four arms and arm entries and duration are recorded over 5 minutes. Increased open-arm activity is interpreted as anti-anxiety behavior.; assessing anxiety-related behavior in rodents; assessing anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones; defining brain regions and mechanisms underlying anxiety-related behavior
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The elevated plus maze is a rodent behavioral assay in which rats or mice are placed at the junction of four arms and arm entries and duration are recorded over 5 minutes. Increased open-arm activity is interpreted as anti-anxiety behavior.
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assessing anxiety-related behavior in rodents
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assessing anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones
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defining brain regions and mechanisms underlying anxiety-related behavior
Problem solved
It provides a fast assay to assess anxiety-related behavior and anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones in rodents.; provides a rapid behavioral assay for anxiety-related behavior in rats or mice
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It provides a fast assay to assess anxiety-related behavior and anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones in rodents.
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provides a rapid behavioral assay for anxiety-related behavior in rats or mice
Problem links
provides a rapid behavioral assay for anxiety-related behavior in rats or mice
LiteratureIt provides a fast assay to assess anxiety-related behavior and anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones in rodents.
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It provides a fast assay to assess anxiety-related behavior and anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones in rodents.
Published Workflows
Objective: Assess anxiety-related behavior in rodents and detect anti-anxiety effects using the elevated plus maze.
Why it works: The assay interprets increased open-arm activity, measured as duration and/or entries, as anti-anxiety behavior.
brain regions underlying anxiety-related behaviormechanisms underlying anxiety-related behaviorbehavioral observationvideo tracking
Steps
- 1.Place rodent at the junction of the four arms facing an open armassay method
Initiate the elevated plus maze behavioral test under the described starting position.
Placement at the maze junction is the starting condition before behavioral recording can occur.
- 2.Record arm entries and duration for 5 minutes using video tracking and an observer simultaneouslyassay method
Capture the primary behavioral readouts of the elevated plus maze.
Behavioral recording follows placement so that arm occupancy and entries can be measured during the test interval.
- 3.Optionally observe ethological parameters including rears, head dips, and stretched-attend posturesassay method
Collect additional ethological behavioral measures beyond arm entries and duration.
These observations are made during or from the same assay session after the test has been initiated and recorded.
- 4.Interpret increased open-arm activity as anti-anxiety behaviorassay method
Convert recorded behavioral readouts into the assay's anxiety-related interpretation.
Interpretation occurs after open-arm duration and/or entries have been measured.
Taxonomy & Function
Primary hierarchy
Technique Branch
Method: A concrete measurement method used to characterize an engineered system.
Mechanisms
behavioral exploration-based phenotypingTechniques
Functional AssayTarget processes
recombinationImplementation Constraints
cofactor dependency: cofactor requirement unknownencoding mode: genetically encodedimplementation constraint: context specific validationoperating role: sensor
The assay requires rats or mice, a plus-maze apparatus, and simultaneous scoring by a video-tracking system and an observer. The abstract also notes optional observation of rears, head dips, and stretched-attend postures.; requires rats or mice; requires an elevated plus maze apparatus with four arms; requires recording by a video-tracking system and observer simultaneously; uses a 5 min test session
The abstract does not support claims about disease specificity, molecular mechanism resolution by itself, or performance outside rodent behavioral testing.; the abstract describes one-occasion exposure in the authors' laboratory but does not establish broader repeat-testing performance
Validation
Cell-freeBacteriaMammalianMouseHumanTherapeuticIndep. Replication
Supporting Sources
Ranked Claims
The elevated plus maze is a widely used behavioral assay for anxiety-related behavior in rodents.
The elevated plus maze is a widely used behavioral assay for rodents
An increase in open arm activity, measured as duration and/or entries, reflects anti-anxiety behavior in the elevated plus maze.
An increase in open arm activity (duration and/or entries) reflects anti-anxiety behavior.
In the authors' laboratory, rats or mice are exposed to the elevated plus maze on one occasion and results can be obtained in 5 minutes per rodent.
rats or mice are exposed to the plus maze on one occasion; thus, results can be obtained in 5 min per rodent
test duration per rodent 5 min
The elevated plus maze has been validated to assess the anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones and to define brain regions and mechanisms underlying anxiety-related behavior.
it has been validated to assess the anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones, and to define brain regions and mechanisms underlying anxiety-related behavior
Approval Evidence
1 source4 linked approval claimsfirst-pass slug elevated-plus-maze
The elevated plus maze is a widely used behavioral assay for rodents...
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assay usesupports
The elevated plus maze is a widely used behavioral assay for anxiety-related behavior in rodents.
The elevated plus maze is a widely used behavioral assay for rodents
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readout interpretationsupports
An increase in open arm activity, measured as duration and/or entries, reflects anti-anxiety behavior in the elevated plus maze.
An increase in open arm activity (duration and/or entries) reflects anti-anxiety behavior.
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throughputsupports
In the authors' laboratory, rats or mice are exposed to the elevated plus maze on one occasion and results can be obtained in 5 minutes per rodent.
rats or mice are exposed to the plus maze on one occasion; thus, results can be obtained in 5 min per rodent
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validation scopesupports
The elevated plus maze has been validated to assess the anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones and to define brain regions and mechanisms underlying anxiety-related behavior.
it has been validated to assess the anti-anxiety effects of pharmacological agents and steroid hormones, and to define brain regions and mechanisms underlying anxiety-related behavior
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Comparisons
Source-stated alternatives
The provided source does not name alternatives in the abstract, although the web research summary notes related elevated-maze variants.
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The provided source does not name alternatives in the abstract, although the web research summary notes related elevated-maze variants.
Source-backed strengths
widely used; validated for anti-anxiety assessment; results can be obtained in 5 min per rodent
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widely used
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validated for anti-anxiety assessment
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results can be obtained in 5 min per rodent
Compared with barcoded Cre recombinase mRNA barcode platform
Elevated plus maze and barcoded Cre recombinase mRNA barcode platform address a similar problem space because they share recombination.
Shared frame: same top-level item type; shared target processes: recombination
Compared with calcium imaging
Elevated plus maze and calcium imaging address a similar problem space because they share recombination.
Shared frame: same top-level item type; shared target processes: recombination
Relative tradeoffs: appears more independently replicated.
Compared with two-photon excitation microscopy
Elevated plus maze and two-photon excitation microscopy address a similar problem space because they share recombination.
Shared frame: same top-level item type; shared target processes: recombination
Strengths here: looks easier to implement in practice.
Ranked Citations
- 1.