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. 2018 Jun 15;16(2):R44-R47.
eCollection 2018 Spring.

Constructing an Inexpensive Elevated Plus Maze

Grant A Fox  1 , Eugene Torigoe  2 , Greg Q Butcher  1
Affiliations

Constructing an Inexpensive Elevated Plus Maze

Grant A Fox et al. J Undergrad Neurosci Educ. .

Abstract

Introducing students to the challenges and rewards of legitimate experimentation has become an essential part of many undergraduate lab courses. However, this objective can be difficult to achieve if the students find the topic uninteresting and therefore do not take ownership of the project. Additionally, the budgets of most undergraduate courses do not allow for the purchase of new equipment for student-generated projects. Here we describe a lab project where students engaged in the process of designing and building their own inexpensive apparatus. Driven by their interest in anxiety research, students in a Neuroscience Methods course developed the following protocol to build an elevated plus maze (EPM) and optional data acquisition module, for less than $100 each. The project engaged students in work that required applied critical thinking and real-world problem solving, and produced a functional EPM that was used in multiple projects beyond this course.

Keywords: Arduino; anxiety; behavioral testing; critical thinking; elevated plus maze (EPM).

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An overhead view of the EPM, mounted on tables for clarity. During data acquisition the maze was mounted above the tank of a Morris Water Maze. Three pairs of IR break beam sensors can be seen (black boxes on closed arms, one pair is denoted by arrows).
Figure 2
Figure 2
A closed arm of the EPM including electrical circuitry. Each closed arm had three IR emitters (black rectangles), break beam sensors (back side, not visible) and red LED lights (on top of the arm). The latter was used by observers to determine the location of the rat while in the closed arm. The terminal LED light on this arm, is indicated by the open arrow.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic representation of the Arduino circuitry.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Preliminary testing of student-constructed EPM. Time spent in each of the three maze locations during a 5-min testing period for male adolescent Long Evan rats.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Data collected using the LED bem detectors. Time spent in each of the three maze locations during a 5-min testing period for male adult Long Evan rats.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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