Comparative analysis between Open Field and Elevated Plus Maze tests as a method for evaluating anxiety-like behavior in mice
Mariah Mesquita de Figueiredo Cerqueira,
Micaele Maria Lopes Castro,
Amanda Almeida Vieira,
Juliana Ayumi Azevedo Kurosawa,
Fabio Leite do Amaral Junior,
Fabíola de Carvalho Chaves de Siqueira Mendes,
Marcia Consentino Kronka Sosthenes
Affiliations
Mariah Mesquita de Figueiredo Cerqueira
Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém/PA, Brazil
Micaele Maria Lopes Castro
Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém/PA, Brazil
Amanda Almeida Vieira
Curso de Medicina, Centro Universitário do Estado do Pará, Belém/PA, Brazil
Juliana Ayumi Azevedo Kurosawa
Curso de Medicina, Centro Universitário do Estado do Pará, Belém/PA, Brazil
Fabio Leite do Amaral Junior
Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém/PA, Brazil
Fabíola de Carvalho Chaves de Siqueira Mendes
Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém/PA, Brazil; Curso de Medicina, Centro Universitário do Estado do Pará, Belém/PA, Brazil
Marcia Consentino Kronka Sosthenes
Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém/PA, Brazil; Corresponding author. Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto, Laboratório de Investigações em Neurodegeneração e Infecção, Rua Mundurucus 4487, CEP66073005, Belém, Brazil.
Anxiety is being increasingly diagnosed in the elderly population. In this sense, epidemiologic data have linked late-life anxiety disorders to increased cognitive decline, morbidity, and even mortality. In addition, studies have already reported the influence of the environment on the association between aging and anxiety. Therefore, the present study aimed to conduct a comparative analysis between Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) and Open Field (OF) tests as methods for evaluating mice's anxiety-like behavior, considering environmental and age variables. For this, eighty Female albino Swiss mice aged 6, 12, and 18 months were housed in an impoverished environment (IE) and enriched environment (EE). Following this, the animals were tested in EPM and OF tests. The environment and age affect the anxiety-like behavior of the mice in the OF, with a difference between the animals of 6 and 18 months, only in the EE (p < 0.021). However, in the EPM, it does not occur. Despite that, the environment affected the distance traveled by the mice in the EPM, where the IE animals showed greater exploratory activity than the EE, only in the 18-month group (p < 0.001). No environmental influences were detected in the OF. Concerning age, in the EPM, animals in the 18-month-old group traveled shorter distances compared to the 6-month group (p < 0.001) and the 12-month group (p < 0.001), only in EE. In turn, in the OF there was a decrease in the distance traveled in the 18-month group compared to the 6-month group (p = 0.012), only in the IE. Thus, the divergences between the results of EPM and OF instigate a better evaluation of the parameters analyzed in each test.
