Open Field (animal test)

The Open Field Test (OFT) is an experiment used to assay general locomotor activity levels and anxiety in rodents in scientific research.[1]

Experimental Design

Developed by Calvin S. Hall to test emotionality of rodents.[2] The open field test (OFT) is a commonly used qualitative and quantitative measure of general locomotor activity and willingness to explore in rodents.[3] The open field is a table that may have surrounding walls to prevent escape. Commonly the field is marked in a grid and square crossings, rearing, and time spent moving are used to assess the activity of the rodent. In the modern open field apparatus, infrared beams can be used to automate the assessment process. The OFT is also often used to assess anxiety by including additional measures of defecation, time spent in the center of the field, and the first five minutes of activity.[4] The relation between the OFT and other tests of exploratory activity (elevated plus maze and emergence) have been analyzed in two mouse strains.[5] Changes in these measures are often used to assess the sedative or stimulant effects of pharmacological agents. This basic behavioral assessment is used in almost every study involving rodent behavior.

Newer attempts has been to analyse the OFT by quantifying the animal's moment-by-moment developmental dynamics. A recent study was able to show that mouse exploratory behavior consists of sequences of repeated motion: iterative processes that increase in extent and complexity, whose presumed function is a systematic active management of input acquired during the exploration of a novel environment.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Denenberg, Victor H. (July 1969). "Open-field Behavior in the Rat: What Does it Mean?". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 159 (Experimental Approaches to the Study of Emotional Behavior): 852–859. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1969.tb12983.x. 
  2. ^ Hall, CS; Ballachey EL (1932). "A study of the rat's behavior in a field: a contribution to method in comparative psychology.". University of California Publications in Psychology 6: 1–12. http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1932-04321-001. 
  3. ^ Stanford, SC (2007). "The Open Field Test: Reinventing the Wheel". Journal of Psychopharmacology 21 (2): 134-4. doi:10.1177/0269881107073199. 
  4. ^ Prut, L; Belzung C (2003). "The open field as a paradigm to measure the effects of drugs on anxiety-like behaviors: a review.". European Journal of Pharmacology 463 (1-3): 3–33. doi:10.1016/S0014-2999(03)01272-X. PMID 12600700. 
  5. ^ Lalonde, R; Strazielle C (2008). "Relations between open-field, elevated plus-maze, and emergence tests as displayed by C57/BL6J and BALB/c mice.". Journal of Neuroscience Methods 171 (1): 48–52. PMID 18358538. 
  6. ^ Quantifying the buildup in extent and complexity of free exploration in mice