Elevated Plus Maze (EPM)

EPM is a common rodent test of anxiety with less time spent in the open arms indicative of anxiety-like behavior. The EPM consists of two runways that cross at a 4-way intersection positioned 50cm above the floors. Two arms, opposite one another, are enclosed by 40cm opaque black walls, while the other two runways are open. On P7 or P8 (counterbalanced with the marble burying test), rats (LBN=7, Control=12) were placed at the center of the intersection and recorded by an overhead camera for 5 minutes using AnyMaze tracking software following a protocol modified from Numan et al. (2004). The number of open-arm entries, time spent in the open arms, and distance traveled were recorded. EPM testing was counterbalanced across animals with the additional anxiety measure, marble burying, described below.