[The behavior of mice from 6 genotypes in 2 tests for anxiety]

Abstract

Mice from six inbred strains (CBA, ICR, SWR, BALB/c, DBA/2, and C57BL/6J) were tested for anxiety in elevated plus-maze and light-dark box. In the elevated plus-maze CBA, ICR, and SWR mice spent more time in the open area (open arms and the center of the maze) than BALB/c and, especially, DBA/2 and C57BL/6J mice. A significant negative correlation was revealed between the percent of time spent in the open area and the number of peepings from the enclosed arms. There was no correlation between the percent of the open-area time and the number of entries into the open arms. A positive correlation was found between the percent of the open-area time in the plus-maze test and percent of time spent in the white section of the light-dark box. Mice of SWR strain spent 64 percent of the experimental time in the white section, whereas C57BL/6J mice spent in the illuminated section of the box only 15 percent of time. A significant interaction was found between the main index of anxiety (percent of the open-area time in the box) and indices of exploratory activity (number of crossed squares and number of rearings) in the light-dark test.