Sex differences in animal tests of anxiety
Abstract
To explore further the meaning of sexually dimorphic behavior in the open-field test, male and female hooded Lister rats were tested in three tests of anxiety. In the social interaction test, the social interaction scores of the female rats were lower and did not increase as readily following familiarization to the apparatus as those of the male rats. In the elevated plus-maze test, female rats showed a reduced aversion to the open arms compared to male rats; and in a modified Vogel conflict test, the punished licking rates of the female rats were lower than those of the male rats. It is concluded that the behavior of male and female rats differs in these tests, but that firm conclusions concerning sex differences in anxiety levels cannot be made because all three tests did not lead to predictions which were in the same direction. It is also suggested that cautious interpretation is necessary because these tests may measure different variables in male and female rats and they may not be valid tests of anxiety for female rats.
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Some studies have shown sex differences in the duration of social investigation.
“Some studies have shown sex differences in the duration of social investigation [12–14]”
From Effects of sex and gonadectomy on social investigation and social recognition in mice (2015) · cites this paper as [12]
Sex differences in anxiety-like behavior are known to occur in adults.
“Although sex differences in anxiety-like behavior are known to occur in adults (44), we found no sex differences in anxiety-like behavior during the juvenile period.”
From The Nuclear Receptor Corepressor Has Organizational Effects within the Developing Amygdala on Juvenile Social Play and Anxiety-Like Behavior (2010) · cites this paper as [44]
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“However, replicating other studies (Johnston and File, 1991; Knight et al., 2021), we observed a small but significant sex difference in the LDB animals with a trending effect in the SDB animals (p = 0.”
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- Authors
- Johnston, A. L., & File, S. E.
- Affiliations
- Medical University of South Carolina (US)
- Guy's Hospital (GB)
- Corresponding author
- File, Sandra E.
- Venue
- Physiology & Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1991-02
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 245-250
- ISSN
- 0031-9384 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1992674129
- Cited by
- 589
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 1.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Physiology & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- sex differences, anxiety, sexually dimorphic behavior, Lister hooded rats, open field test, social interaction, elevated plus maze, Vogel conflict test, punishment, female rats, test validity
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Appetitive Behavior, Arousal, Avoidance Learning, Exploratory Behavior, Female, Male, Motor Activity, Orientation, Rats, Inbred Strains, Sex Factors, Social Behavior, Social Environment, Rats
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