Elevated Plus Maze

The Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) test was used to assess anxiety-related behavior in C57BL/6J mice as previously described (Jawhar et al., 2012). The apparatus with a shape of a “+” consisted of four arms and a central area raised 75 cm above a padded surface.

Mice were placed in the center facing one of the two likewise oppositely positioned open arms and were allowed to freely explore the maze for 300 s. Distance traveled and the time spent in the open arms were recorded using ANY-Maze video tracking software (Stoelting Co., Wood Dale, IL, USA). Anxiety-like behavior can be measured by the time spent in the open arms as lower anxiety levels correspond to longer time spent in open arms (Karl et al., 2003).