Open Field Test
Overview
The open field test (OFT) is a foundational behavioral assay that simultaneously measures locomotor activity, exploratory behavior, and anxiety-like behavior in rodents. The apparatus is a square or circular arena (40 × 40 cm for mice, 100 × 100 cm for rats) with uniform walls and an open top. Animals are placed in the arena and allowed to explore freely for 5–30 minutes while video tracking records their position, movement, and behavioral events.
Anxiety-like behavior is inferred from thigmotaxis — the tendency to remain near the walls of the arena. Anxious animals spend more time in the peripheral zone and less time in the center. The ratio of center time to total time and center distance to total distance are primary anxiety indices. Total distance traveled and velocity provide locomotor activity measures that control for sedation or hyperactivity confounds in drug studies.
ConductMaze provides automated video tracking with zone definitions (center, periphery, corners), distance and velocity computation, immobility detection, rearing counts, and grooming bout analysis. The software generates trajectory plots, heat maps, time-bin analyses for habituation curves, and zone transition matrices. It supports both single-session anxiety assessment and multi-session locomotor habituation paradigms.
Trial Flow
Preparation
Set arena lighting (150–300 lux center); clean with 70% ethanol
Place Animal
Place animal in center or corner (standardize across cohort)
Free Exploration
Record for 5–30 min with overhead video tracking
Zone Analysis
Compute time and distance in center vs periphery
Locomotor Analysis
Calculate total distance, velocity, immobility time
End
Remove animal; clean arena between subjects
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arena dimensions | cm | 40×40 | Arena size (40×40 cm mice; 100×100 cm rats) |
| Test duration | minutes | 10 | Total exploration time |
| Center zone | % | 25 | Center area as percentage of total arena (typically 25%) |
| Light level | lux | 200 | Illumination at arena center |
| Starting position | enum | center | Initial placement: center or corner |
| Time bin size | minutes | 5 | Temporal bins for habituation analysis |
Metrics
| Metric | Unit | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Total distance | cm | Total path length during test session |
| Center time | seconds | Total time spent in center zone |
| Center time % | % | Center time / total time × 100 (anxiety index) |
| Center entries | count | Number of entries into center zone |
| Average velocity | cm/s | Mean movement speed during active periods |
| Immobility time | seconds | Time with velocity below threshold (< 2 cm/s) |
| Rearing count | count | Number of rearing events (vertical exploration) |
| Thigmotaxis index | ratio | Peripheral distance / total distance (1.0 = all wall-hugging) |
Sample Data
| Subject | Group | Total Distance (cm) | Center Time % | Center Entries | Velocity (cm/s) | Rearing |
|---|
Representative data for illustration purposes. Actual values will vary by species, strain, and experimental conditions.
Applications
- 1General locomotor activity — baseline phenotyping and drug-induced locomotor changes
- 2Anxiety-like behavior — thigmotaxis and center avoidance as anxiety indices
- 3Psychostimulant effects — amphetamine, cocaine, and novel dopaminergic compound hyperlocomotion
- 4Sedation screening — neuroleptics, antihistamines, and anxiolytic dose-response locomotor effects
- 5Habituation learning — within-session and between-session locomotor habituation curves
Related Protocols
Compatible Products
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