Cited by 913Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMemory and Neural Mechanisms

Measuring normal and pathological anxiety-like behaviour in mice: a review

Belzung, Catherine, Griebel, Guy·2001·Behavioural Brain Research

Abstract

Measuring anxiety-like behaviour in mice has been mostly undertaken using a few classical animal models of anxiety such as the elevated plus-maze, the light/dark choice or the open-field tests. All these procedures are based upon the exposure of subjects to unfamiliar aversive places. Anxiety can also be elicited by a range of threats such as predator exposure. Furthermore, the concepts of "state" and "trait" anxiety have been proposed to differentiate anxiety that the subject experiences at a particular moment of time and that is increased by the presence of an anxiogenic stimulus, and anxiety that does not vary from moment to moment and is considered to be an "enduring feature of an individual". Thus, when assessing the behaviour of mice, it is necessary to increase the range of behavioural paradigms used, including animal models of "state" and "trait" anxiety. In the last few years, many mice with targeted mutations have been generated. Among them some have been proposed as animal models of pathological anxiety, since they display high level of anxiety-related behaviours in classical tests. However, it is important to emphasise that such mice are animal models of a single gene dysfunction, rather than models of anxiety, per se. Inbred strains of mice, such as the BALB/c line, which exhibits spontaneously elevated anxiety appear to be a more suitable model of pathological anxiety.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0166-4328(01)00291-1

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  • To provide insights about the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders, measurements of anxiety-like behaviors in animals must meet the essential criterion of validity.

    “To provide insights about the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders, measurements of anxiety-like behaviors in animals must meet the essential criterion of validity (see Box 1) (refs. 22,23).”

    From Resolving the neural circuits of anxiety (2015) · cites this paper as [22]

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Authors
Belzung, C., & Griebel, G.
Affiliations
  • Université de Tours (FR)
  • Sanofi (France) (FR)
Corresponding author
Belzung, Catherine
Venue
Behavioural Brain Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2001-11
Volume
125
Issue
1-2
Pages
141-149
ISSN
0166-4328 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1977118330
Cited by
912
References
97
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 38 · 2018: 44 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 46 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 46 · 2013: 46 · 2012: 48
FWCI
7.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Behavioural Brain Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Keywords
anxiety-like behavior, elevated plus maze, open field test, predator exposure, state anxiety, trait anxiety, animal models of anxiety, inbred mouse strains, BALB/c mice, pathological anxiety
MeSH terms
Animals, Anxiety, Arousal, Behavior, Animal, Humans, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Mice, Inbred Strains, Mice, Mutant Strains, Mice, Transgenic, Models, Genetic, Phenotype, Mice, Knockout, Mice

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