title: Age-related differences in elevated plus maze behavior between adolescent and adult rats.
abstract: Adolescence is a time of considerable transformations, often associated with increases in risk taking and novelty-seeking behaviors. Little is known of a possible age-dependent expression of anxiety-related behaviors in novel or potentially dangerous situations. The present study explored age differences in anxiogenic and anxiolytic stimuli between adolescent and adult Sprague-Dawley rats using the elevated plus maze (EPM). Data were compared across several experiments using factor analysis of multiple EPM measures. Under some circumstances, adolescents revealed a relatively low behavioral anxiety profile compared to adults, whereas in other situations results revealed the opposite pattern. Characteristics of the pretest circumstances altered considerably the nature of the conclusions reached regarding age-related changes in anxiogenic and anxiolytic stimuli. In general, anxiety measures in adolescents were less affected by variations in pretest conditions compared to the same variables in adults, suggesting possible adolescent immaturity of brain mechanisms involved in the regulation of anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, P.O. Box 6000, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA.
authors.forename: Tamara L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Doremus
authors.forename: Elena I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Varlinskaya
authors.forename: Linda Patia
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Spear
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012737:Sex Factors; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol