The mouse light/dark box test

Bourin, Michel; Hascoët, Martine

doi:10.1016/s0014-2999(03)01274-3

Cited by 1,152 publications

(805 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…A relevant test system to detect anxiety-related behaviour in mice is the light/dark exploration test, which uses the aversion of rodents for brightly lit large spaces (Crawley, 1981;Hascoet and Bourin, 1998;Hascoet et al, 2001;Bourin and Hascoet, 2003). The light-dark apparatus consisted of an opentopped rectangular Plexiglas box (45 × 30 × 30 cm; l × b × h) that was divided into a small (18 × 30 cm) area and a large (27 × 30 cm) area with an opening door (7.5 × 7.5 cm) located in the centre of the partition at floor level.…”

Section: Anxiolytic-like Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptogenic and central nervous system effects of single doses of 3% rosavin and 1% salidroside Rhodiola rosea L. extract in mice

Perfumi

Mattioli

2006

Phytotherapy Research

155

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Rhodiola rosea L., or 'golden root', is a popular plant in traditional medicine in Eastern Europe and Asia, with a reputation for improving depression, enhancing work performance, eliminating fatigue and treating symptoms of asthenia subsequent to intense physical and psychological stress. Due to these therapeutic properties, R. rosea is considered to be one of the most active adaptogenic drugs. To confirm and extend results obtained in the few preclinical and clinical studies available in English language journals, the purpose of the present study was to re-investigate the effects produced by a single oral administration of an R. rosea hydroalcohol extract (containing 3% rosavin and 1% salidroside) on the central nervous system in mice. The extract was tested on antidepressant, adaptogenic, anxiolytic, nociceptive and locomotor activities at doses of 10, 15 and 20 mg/kg, using predictive behavioural tests and animal models. The results show that this R. rosea extract significantly, but not dose-dependently, induced antidepressant-like, adaptogenic, anxiolytic-like and stimulating effects in mice. This study thus provides evidence of the efficacy of R. rosea extracts after a single administration, and confirms many preclinical and clinical studies indicating the adaptogenic and stimulating effects of such R. rosea extracts. Moreover, antidepressant-like and anxiolytic-like activities of R. rosea were shown in mice for the first time.

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Section: Anxiolytic-like Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptogenic and central nervous system effects of single doses of 3% rosavin and 1% salidroside Rhodiola rosea L. extract in mice

Perfumi

Mattioli

2006

Phytotherapy Research

155

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…[28]. The light and dark regions were separated by an opening (7.5 Â 7.5 cm) that allowed the animals to move between the two compartments.…”

Section: Behavior In the Light-dark Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in anxiety-related behaviors and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal activity in mice lacking the 5-HT-3A receptor

Bhatnagar

Sun

Raber

et al. 2004

Physiology & Behavior

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The serotonin-3 (5-HT-3A) receptor has been localized in limbic and brainstem structures that regulate anxiety-related behavior and hypothalamic -pituitary -adrenal (HPA) activity, but its role in regulating anxiety-related behaviors is equivocal, and evidence for its role in regulating HPA activity is limited. Therefore, we used 5-HT-3A receptor knockout (KO) mice to further study these issues. Behavior in the elevated plus maze, open field, light -dark box and after Pavlovian fear conditioning was examined in addition to HPA activity under basal and acute stress conditions. Compared to age-matched adult male wild-type (WT) controls, adult male KO mice exhibited increased distance traveled in the open arms of the elevated plus maze, consistent with decreased measures of anxiety. There were no differences between the two genotypes in exploratory behavior in the open field or light -dark test. KO mice displayed enhanced fear conditioning indexed by fearinduced freezing behavior. KO mice displayed lower adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) responses to restraint or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In addition, lower vasopressin mRNA in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) and higher corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA in the central amygdala were observed in KO compared to WT mice. Therefore, deletion of the 5-HT-3A receptor revealed an important role for this receptor in regulating HPA responses to acute stress and a potential interaction between the 5-HT-3A receptor and CRH in the amygdala. Together, these data suggest that the 5-HT-3A receptor does not have a unitary role in the regulation of anxiety-and fear-related behaviors but has a potentially substantial role in the regulation of HPA activity. D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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“…Most of the techniques that are employed in adult rodents are not suitable when focusing on younger animals. For instance, standard screening tests for anti-anxiety effects, such as the elevated plus maze (Olivier et al, 1994) or the light-dark transition task (Bourin and Hascoet, 2003), are precluded in the infant due to obvious sensory limitations. Given these limitations, the measurement of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in socially isolated infant rats has provided a useful and sensitive test for anxiolytic effects in early infancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential effects of ethanol and midazolam upon the devaluation of an aversive memory in infant rats

Pautassi

Nizhnikov

Molina

et al. 2007

Alcohol

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In infant rats, low doses of ethanol have been found to attenuate the aversive representation of an unconditioned stimulus (US) as assessed through a revaluation paradigm. This may be explained by early anxiolytic properties of EtOH. The present set of experiments was aimed at analyzing possible mechanisms of these putative anti-anxiety effects of EtOH. In a the first experiment, EtOH's effects upon the expression of citric acid-induced distress calls were compared with varying doses of midazolam (MDZ), a fast-acting GABA A agonist. Similar calming effects of 0.5 g/kg EtOH and 0.09 mg/kg MDZ were observed. Both drugs were then assessed in their capability to alter the expression of a conditioned aversion by devaluing the US. Aversive conditioning was conducted on postnatal day 14 (PD14) by pairing a lemon odor (conditioned stimulus, CS) with intraoral stimulation of citric acid (US). Control animals experienced both stimuli in an explicitly unrelated fashion. On PD 15 pups were briefly exposed to the citric acid solution under the effects of 0.5 g/kg EtOH, 0.09 mg/kg MDZ, or the respective vehicle for each drug. Pups were then tested in a two-way odor preference test (lemon vs. cineole). Both vehicle and MDZ-treated animals spent significantly less time near the lemon CS, thus expressing a citric-acid mediated odor aversion. This conditioned response was completely inhibited in pups that received 0.5 g/kg EtOH. Locomotor patterns at test were not affected by either EtOH or MDZ administration. A higher dose of MDZ (0.18 mg/kg, i.p) was also ineffective in attenuating the aversive memory. In summary, EtOH's devaluating capabilities are not shared by MDZ, indicating that these effects of EtOH may not be GABA-mediated. Appetitive motivational properties of EtOH or non-GABA A -mediated anti-anxiety effects (i.e, NMDA-related) could underlie this devaluation effect of ethanol.

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The mouse light/dark box test

Cited by 1,152 publications

References 85 publications

Adaptogenic and central nervous system effects of single doses of 3% rosavin and 1% salidroside Rhodiola rosea L. extract in mice

Adaptogenic and central nervous system effects of single doses of 3% rosavin and 1% salidroside Rhodiola rosea L. extract in mice

Changes in anxiety-related behaviors and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal activity in mice lacking the 5-HT-3A receptor

Differential effects of ethanol and midazolam upon the devaluation of an aversive memory in infant rats

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