title: Tests for Anxiety-Related Behavior in Mice.
abstract: Phenotyping of inbred mouse strains and genetically modified mouse models for characteristics related to neuropsychiatric diseases includes assessing their anxiety-related behavior. A variety of tests have been developed to measure anxiety in laboratory rodents and these tests have been placed under scrutiny over the years concerning their validity. Here we describe the most widely used tests for anxiety in mice. The protocols we present are established methods used in the German Mouse Clinic (GMC), with which alterations in anxiety could successfully be discovered in mouse mutants. Moreover, since baseline anxiety levels in mice are easily influenced by a great variety of disturbances, we carefully outline the critical parameters that need to be considered.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.|German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabine M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hölter
authors.affiliation: Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.|German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Einicke
authors.affiliation: Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.|German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sperling
authors.affiliation: Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.|German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Annemarie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zimprich
authors.affiliation: Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.|German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.affiliation: German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.|Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.affiliation: German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.|Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gailus-Durner
authors.affiliation: German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.|Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.|Technische Universität München, Lehrstuhl für Experimentelle Genetik, Munich, Germany.|German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hrabé de Angelis
authors.affiliation: Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany.|Technische Universität München, Lehrstuhl für Entwicklungsgenetik, Munich, Germany.|Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen e. V. (DZNE), Site Munich, Germany.|Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wurst
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology
keywords: anxiety; elevated plus-maze; light/dark box; open field; social interaction