title: The use of a test battery assessing affective behavior in rats: order effects.
abstract: Many studies have used test batteries for the evaluation of affective behavior in rodents. This has the advantage that treatment effects can be examined on different aspects of the affective domain. However, the behavior in one test may affect the behavior in following test. The present study examined possible order effects in rats that were tested in three different tests: Open Field (OF), Zero Maze (ZM) and Forced Swim Test (FST). The data of the present study indicated that the behavior in ZM was the least affected by the order of testing. In contrast, the behavior in the FST (and to a less extend the OF) was dependent on the order of the test in the test battery. Repeated testing in the same test did not change the behavior in the ZM. However, the behavior in the OF and FST changed with repeated testing. The present study indicates that the performance of rats in a test can be dependent on the order in a test battery. Consequently, these data caution the interpretation of treatment effects in studies in which test batteries are used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. a.blokland@maastrichtuniversity.nl
authors.forename: Arjan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blokland
authors.forename: Sanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ten Oever
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van Gorp
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Draanen
authors.forename: Theodor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krugliak
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Napoletano
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Keuter
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Klinkenberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D035841:Behavioral Research / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D009043:Motor Activity; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000379:methods; D013550:Swimming