Relations between open-field- elevated plus-maze- and emergence tests as displayed by C57 and BL6J and BALB and c mice-

Authors
R. Lalonde, C. Strazielle.

Lab
Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal/St-Luc, Unité de Recherche en Sciences Neurologiques, Montréal, Québec, Canada ; Université Henri Poincaré, Laboratoire de Pathologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire en Nutrition, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France.

Journal
Journal of Neuroscience Methods

Abstract
The relations between open-field, elevated plus-maze, and emergence tests were examined in two strains of mice. In the open-field, C57BL/6J mice had more ambulatory movements and rears but not stereotyped movements relative to BALB/c. In addition, C57BL/6J mice entered more often than BALB/c into enclosed and open arms of the elevated plus-maze. When placed inside a large enclosure, C57BL/6J mice emerged more quickly than BALB/c from a small toy object. In the entire series of mice, ambulation and rears in the open-field were linearly correlated with open and enclosed arm visits in the elevated plus-maze. Ambulatory movements and rears were also correlated with emergence latencies. In contrast, stereotyped movements were correlated with emergence latencies, but not with any elevated plus-maze value. These results specify the extent and limits of association between the three tests.

BIOSEB Instruments Used:
Infrared Actimeter (LE8815)