| Anxiety encompasses a wide spectrum of disease states. Anxiety disorders include Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PGI is currently working to develop tests for OCD and PTSD. Key aspects of these disease states can be recapitulated in rodents in the following tests. | |
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| Stress-Induced Hyperthemia |
| This test assesses the intrinsic effects of anxiolytics and anxiogenics on core body temperature following a stress induced stimulus...more info |
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| Elevated Plus Maze |
| A combination of maze height, luminosity and open space is assumed to induce fear or anxiety, the degree of which is assessed by measuring the amount of time mice spend in various areas of the maze ...more info |
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| Novelty Suppressed Feeding |
| This test assesses stress-induced anxiety by measuring the latency of an animal to approach and eat food in a novel environment ...more info |
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| Novelty Induced Hypophagia |
| This test assesses stress-induced anxiety by measuring the latency of an animal to approach and eat food in a novel environment ...more info |
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| Four Plate Test |
| The four-plate test is an unconditioned fear model of anxiety in which exploratory behavior of a new environment is suppressed ...more info |
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| Vocalization in Guinea Pig Pups |
| This test measures anxiety, through motor responses and vocalizations and activity induced through isolation from the mother and siblings ...more info |
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| Ultrasonic Vocalization in Rats Pups |
| Ultrasonic vocalization (USV) can be used as a measure of distress or anxiety when rat pups are separated from their mother and littermates ...more info |
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| Marble Burying |
| A model for both anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. Mice pretreated with anxiolytic agents show less marble burying compared to the control mice ...more info |
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| Open Field |
| The open field test is used to study behavioral responses in mice that are placed in a novel and bright arena. Mice tend to avoid brightly illuminated areas. The test also measures a range of anxiety-induced, locomotor activity, and exploratory behaviors....more info |
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| Fear Potentiated Startle in Rats |
| An augmented startle response is considered a measure of fear. Clinically effective anxiolytics, including benzodiazepines decrease or block this response ...more info |
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| Modified Geller Seifter Conflict Procedure |
| Anxiolytic drugs increase the rate of responding in the punishment component, but had relatively little effect on unpunished responding ...more info |
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| Social Interaction |
| Diazepam and CDP increase social interaction in Sprague Dawley rats ...more info |
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| Light/Dark Choice |
| The light-dark choice measures an animal's tendency to remain in dark vs. light areas. Anxiolytics increase the time spent in a well illuminated area. |
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