light dark box test mice

The LDB test is a popular animal model used in pharmacology to assay unconditioned anxiety response in rodents. The LDB apparatus has two compartments. The large light compartment (2/3 of the box) is brightly lit and open, while the small dark compartment (1/3 of the box) is covered and dark. A door of 7 cm connects the two compartments. Rodents are placed in the middle of the brightly illuminated chamber and are allowed to move freely between the two chambers. They prefer darker areas, however, when presented in a novel environment, they have a tendency to explore. These two conflicting emotions lead to observable anxiety-like symptoms. When rodents are injected with anxiolytic drugs, time spent in the light compartment will increase. But when anxiogenic drugs are injected, more time is spent in the dark compartment. For more information: light dark box test mice