Acute stress response

(AM400000)

Reaction of the sympathetic nervous system, including an increase in core body temperature, in response to an acute stressful event

Persecution with pen net; Ambulatory activity after saline injection; Novel cage test; Forced swim test; Fear conditioning test; Restraint test; Immunoassay; Tail suspension test; Acute social isolation; In situ hybridization (ISH); Open field test; Fecal pellet count

Anxiety

(AM400001)

Anxiety-like behavior in rodents where the emotional response, likened to human anxiety, is elicited by aversive stimuli that are diffuse, unpredictable, distal and/or of long duration. These include avoidance and defensive behaviors.

Open field test; Elevated plus maze test; Morris water maze test; Light-dark exploration test; Marble-burying test; Elevated zero maze test; Novelty-suppressed feeding paradigm; Reciprocal social interaction test; Novel object exploration test; Successive alley test; Modified open field test with novel object; Defensive burying test; Measurement of stress-induced hyperthermia; Three-chamber social approach test; Novel cage test; Novel tank diving test; General observations; Restraint-stress induced corticosterone levels; Bottom dwelling test; Zero maze test; T-maze test; Mouse defense test battery

Depression

(AM400003)

Defeated emotional state in response to a stressful situation or stimulus, where the trigger is perceived defeat in a hierarchical struggle for resources, mating choices or entrapment/despair. These can be measured in rodents by reduced psychomotor activity (immobility), alterations in appetite (anhedonia) and sleep patterns.

Forced swim test; Tail suspension test; Sucrose preference test; Modified forced swim test; Measurement of emotion

Exploratory activity

(AM400004)

Duration or frequency of investigation of an object or place, usually increased for unfamiliar or object/space or if there is a gap in reintroduction

Three-chamber social approach test; Novel object recognition test; Open field test; Home cage behavior; Hole-board test; Textured novel object recognition test (T-NORT); Object-place recognition test; Elevated plus maze test; Marble-burying test; General observations; Novel object interaction test; Object preference test; Novel cage test; Novel object exploration test; Resident-intruder test; Reciprocal social interaction test; Y-maze test; Light-dark exploration test; Radial maze test; Puzzle box test; Operant conditioning paradigm

Exploratory activity: habituation

(AM400005)

Habituation to a novel environment, typically measured by a decrease of exploratory activity after exposure of a few minutes. This is non-associative learning.

Open field test; Barnes maze test; Three-chamber social approach test; Novel object recognition test; Home cage behavior; Habituation-dishabituation test

Fear response

(AM400006)

Emotional response related to anticipation of specific pain or danger

Startle response test; Defensive withdrawal test; Open field test; Novel object exploration test; Elevated T-maze test; Light-dark exploration test; Fear conditioning test; Mouse defense test battery; Response to olfactory stimuli

Response to novelty

(AM400007)

Amount of exploration of a novel object, situation or environment

Open field test; Eight-arm radial maze test; Novel object interaction test; Object-place recognition test; Novel object recognition test; Novel cage test; Elevated T-maze test; Light-dark exploration test; Elevated plus maze test; Habituation-dishabituation test; Annex test; Zero maze test

Thigmotaxis

(AM400008)

Preference for staying at the perimeter walls of an open area, which may be an indicator of anxiety

Open field test; Morris water maze test; Gentle touch test

Habituation to aversive stimuli

(AM400009)

Decrease in startle /reflex amplitude following several exposures to aversive stimuli like acoustic startle, as habituation occurs to the stimulus following continued or prolonged conditioning. This is non-associative learning.

Acoustic startle reflex test; Light-off jump reflex habituation assay; Muscle reflex; Light-off startle jump

Fear response: predator stimulus

(AM400010)

Response to the presence of predator (which can be sensed through scent, computer generated graphics or videos on sides of tanks), expressed in most organisms as some form of motor response like bottom dwelling in fish, or passive avoidance in rodents

Head scanning

(AM400011)

head movements to explore a new place or object

Fear conditioning test

Hoarding behavior

(AM400012)

Hiding food for later consumption, a natural behavior in rodents, but excessive hoarding can be associated with food-seeking behavior

Hoarding behavior test