Research data · Released November 10, 2026

Behavioral tests in published research

Name: Behavioral tests in published research
Creator: ConductScience
Published: 2026-11-10

We counted how many animal research papers mention each of 90 behavioral tests in their title or abstract, and which species those papers used.

We give both counts for each year since 2001, from the 39.7 million records in PubMed on November 8, 2026.

See every test Download the data

animal research papers from 2021 to 2025 mentioned at least one test

of those papers mentioned two or more tests

2020 the year mice overtook rats in papers that mention a test

behavioral tests counted

From 2021 to 2025, 51% of the papers that mention a test used mice and 42% used rats. Some used both.

Papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention each test, colored by how they compare with 2011 to 2015

Papers that mention any of the 90 tests grew to 1.2 times as many between the two periods. Open a tile for the test's own page.

2021 to 2025 compared with 2011 to 2015:
At least 25% fewer
5 to 24% fewer
About the same, under 5% either way
1.1 to 1.9 times as many
2 times as many or more
Too few papers to compare, under 10 in either period

The 90 tests, ranked by papers from 2021 to 2025

Each row gives a test's papers from 2021 to 2025 and the change compared with 2011 to 2015. Pick a behavioral domain, such as pain and nociception or anxiety-like behavior, to narrow the list.

Sort

All 90 tests.

The behavioral tests, with their papers in 2021 to 2025
Test	Papers, 2021 to 2025	Compared with 2011 to 2015	Species, share of papers	Apparatus
Morris water maze Spatial learning and memory	5,392	1.6 times as many	Mice 51%, rats 51%	Shop the apparatus
Open field Activity and exploration	3,980	2.1 times as many	Mice 55%, rats 42%	Shop the apparatus
Novel object recognition Recognition memory	3,019	2.3 times as many	Mice 57%, rats 40%	Shop the apparatus
Forced swim test Depression-like behavior	2,988	1.2 times as many	Mice 58%, rats 44%	Shop the apparatus
Elevated plus maze Anxiety-like behavior	2,883	1.3 times as many	Rats 51%, mice 50%	Shop the apparatus
Treadmill running Motor function and endurance	2,091	1.2 times as many	Mice 48%, rats 42%	Shop the apparatus
Fear conditioning Fear and avoidance	2,010	about the same	Mice 58%, rats 35%	Shop the apparatus
Y-maze Working memory	1,988	2.9 times as many	Mice 64%, rats 32%	Shop the apparatus
Rotarod Motor function and endurance	1,844	1.4 times as many	Mice 67%, rats 36%	Shop the apparatus
Sucrose preference test Depression-like behavior	1,522	2.8 times as many	Mice 52%, rats 49%	Shop the apparatus
Tail suspension test Depression-like behavior	1,405	1.9 times as many	Mice 89%, rats 14%	Shop the apparatus
Self-administration Reward and motivation	1,399	9% fewer	Rats 70%, mice 25%	Shop the apparatus
Grip strength Motor function and endurance	1,354	2.9 times as many	Mice 71%, rats 25%	Shop the apparatus
Von Frey test Pain and nociception	1,282	1.6 times as many	Rats 53%, mice 49%	Shop the apparatus
Passive avoidance Fear and avoidance	1,142	10% fewer	Rats 56%, mice 42%	Shop the apparatus
Conditioned place preference Reward and motivation	1,078	11% fewer	Mice 60%, rats 39%	Shop the apparatus
Wheel running Activity and exploration	992	1.1 times as many	Mice 74%, rats 25%	Shop the apparatus
Operant conditioning Reward and motivation	945	24% fewer	Rats 55%, mice 32%	Shop the apparatus
Gait analysis Motor function and endurance	821	2.1 times as many	Mice 37%, rats 35%	Shop the apparatus
Prepulse inhibition and acoustic startle Sensory function and startle	804	23% fewer	Mice 43%, rats 37%
Hot plate Pain and nociception	762	8% fewer	Mice 62%, rats 44%	Shop the apparatus
Light-dark box Anxiety-like behavior	725	1.5 times as many	Mice 48%, rats 30%	Shop the apparatus
Formalin test Pain and nociception	545	31% fewer	Mice 65%, rats 42%
Tail flick Pain and nociception	545	33% fewer	Mice 52%, rats 50%	Shop the apparatus
Writhing test Pain and nociception	528	33% fewer	Mice 79%, rats 37%
Barnes maze Spatial learning and memory	499	2.6 times as many	Mice 64%, rats 36%	Shop the apparatus
Beam walking Motor function and endurance	491	1.7 times as many	Mice 52%, rats 48%	Shop the apparatus
Social interaction test Social behavior	482	1.5 times as many	Mice 44%, rats 41%	Shop the apparatus
Self-grooming Home-cage behavior	447	1.6 times as many	Mice 47%, rats 27%
T-maze Working memory	436	1.1 times as many	Mice 41%, rats 38%	Shop the apparatus
Nest building Home-cage behavior	422	2.0 times as many	Mice 48%, other animals 45%
Object location test Spatial learning and memory	339	1.9 times as many	Mice 60%, rats 40%
Three-chamber sociability test Social behavior	339	4.8 times as many	Mice 63%, rats 35%	Shop the apparatus
Marble burying Anxiety-like behavior	328	1.9 times as many	Mice 77%, rats 26%
Negative geotaxis and climbing assays Motor function and endurance	305	2.2 times as many	Fruit flies 66%, rats 20%
Novelty-suppressed feeding Depression-like behavior	260	1.6 times as many	Mice 63%, rats 40%
Novel tank test Anxiety-like behavior	245	5.3 times as many	Zebrafish 96%
Catalepsy bar test Motor function and endurance	244	27% fewer	Rats 54%, mice 51%	Shop the apparatus
Radial arm maze Spatial learning and memory	225	38% fewer	Rats 55%, mice 40%	Shop the apparatus
Active avoidance (shuttle box) Fear and avoidance	210	17% fewer	Rats 53%, mice 33%	Shop the apparatus
Hole-board Activity and exploration	206	13% fewer	Mice 62%, rats 37%
Wire hang and inverted grid Motor function and endurance	206	2.4 times as many	Mice 73%, rats 29%
Predator odor exposure Fear and avoidance	185	8% fewer	Rats 44%, mice 37%	Shop the apparatus
Hargreaves plantar test Pain and nociception	174	about the same	Mice 53%, rats 49%	Shop the apparatus
Cylinder test Motor function and endurance	163	1.5 times as many	Rats 47%, mice 44%	Shop the apparatus
Pole test Motor function and endurance	161	2.2 times as many	Mice 85%, rats 18%	Shop the apparatus
Grid walking (foot fault) Motor function and endurance	155	1.4 times as many	Mice 55%, rats 48%	Shop the apparatus
Touchscreen operant tasks Attention and executive function	146	3.2 times as many	Mice 60%, rats 25%	Shop the apparatus
Elevated zero maze Anxiety-like behavior	136	1.3 times as many	Mice 63%, rats 39%	Shop the apparatus
Resident-intruder test Social behavior	134	6% fewer	Mice 55%, rats 34%	Shop the apparatus
Splash test Depression-like behavior	132	6.9 times as many	Mice 67%, rats 32%
Attentional set shifting Attention and executive function	113	23% fewer	Rats 68%, mice 27%	Shop the apparatus
Rotational behavior (rotometer) Motor function and endurance	110	48% fewer	Rats 46%, mice 44%	Shop the apparatus
Adhesive removal test Motor function and endurance	107	1.4 times as many	Mice 52%, rats 50%
Ladder rung walking Motor function and endurance	104	1.4 times as many	Rats 58%, mice 41%	Shop the apparatus
Five-choice serial reaction time task Attention and executive function	103	41% fewer	Rats 58%, mice 38%	Shop the apparatus
Step-down avoidance Fear and avoidance	97	51% fewer	Mice 68%, rats 30%	Shop the apparatus
Skilled reaching Motor function and endurance	95	33% fewer	Rats 55%, mice 45%	Shop the apparatus
Looming stimulus Fear and avoidance	92	2.0 times as many	Mice 49%, other animals 35%	Shop the apparatus
Acetone test Pain and nociception	85	1.6 times as many	Rats 65%, mice 36%
Learned helplessness Depression-like behavior	85	33% fewer	Rats 53%, mice 47%	Shop the apparatus
Olfactory tests Sensory function and startle	81	1.4 times as many	Mice 62%, rats 28%
Cold plate Pain and nociception	74	1.9 times as many	Mice 58%, rats 43%	Shop the apparatus
Paw pressure test Pain and nociception	70	45% fewer	Rats 77%, mice 29%
Drug discrimination Reward and motivation	65	46% fewer	Rats 74%, mice 40%	Shop the apparatus
Corner test Motor function and endurance	59	1.8 times as many	Mice 58%, rats 49%
Social approach and avoidance Social behavior	54	2.5 times as many	Mice 74%, rats 17%	Shop the apparatus
Tube test for social dominance Social behavior	51	3.9 times as many	Mice 71%, rats 29%	Shop the apparatus
Radial arm water maze Spatial learning and memory	48	51% fewer	Rats 56%, mice 44%	Shop the apparatus
Burrowing Home-cage behavior	40	1.7 times as many	Mice 65%, rats 23%
Puzzle box Attention and executive function	34	Too few papers to compare	Other animals 50%, mice 44%	Shop the apparatus
Thermal gradient and temperature preference Pain and nociception	31	Too few papers to compare	Mice 58%, other animals 26%	Shop the apparatus
Elevated T-maze Anxiety-like behavior	29	60% fewer	Rats 83%, mice 17%
Observational fear Fear and avoidance	26	Too few papers to compare	Mice 92%	Shop the apparatus
Active place avoidance Spatial learning and memory	24	11% fewer	Mice 75%, rats 38%	Shop the apparatus
Social operant tasks Social behavior	23	Too few papers to compare	Rats 52%, mice 30%	Shop the apparatus
Real-time place preference Reward and motivation	19	Too few papers to compare	Mice 89%, rats 21%	Shop the apparatus
Plus maze for place and response learning Spatial learning and memory	16	41% fewer	Mice 63%, rats 38%	Shop the apparatus
Runway Reward and motivation	12	48% fewer	Mice 42%, other animals 42%	Shop the apparatus
Three-choice serial reaction time task Attention and executive function	9	Too few papers to compare	Mice 56%, rats 33%	Shop the apparatus
Cincinnati water maze Spatial learning and memory	8	Too few papers to compare	Rats 100%	Shop the apparatus
Hebb-Williams maze Spatial learning and memory	8	Too few papers to compare	Mice 50%, rats 50%
Vogel conflict test Anxiety-like behavior	8	Too few papers to compare	Rats 88%, other animals 13%	Shop the apparatus
Water Y-maze Working memory	4	Too few papers to compare	Mice 75%, rats 25%	Shop the apparatus
3D open field Activity and exploration	1	Too few papers to compare	Mice 100%	Shop the apparatus
3D radial maze Spatial learning and memory	1	Too few papers to compare	Mice 100%	Shop the apparatus
Bow-tie maze Recognition memory	0	Too few papers to compare	No papers
Concatenated Y-maze Working memory	0	Too few papers to compare	No papers	Shop the apparatus
Continuous object recognition Recognition memory	0	Too few papers to compare	No papers	Shop the apparatus
Dry-land Morris maze Spatial learning and memory	0	Too few papers to compare	No papers	Shop the apparatus

A change shows only when a test has 10 or more papers in both periods. A change under 5% shows as “about the same”. All tests together grew to 1.2 times as many. Treadmill running and wheel running include papers that used them as exercise. A paper can use more than one species, so a test's species shares can add to more than 100%.

Tests by behavioral domain

Each domain shows how many papers from 2021 to 2025 mentioned any of its tests. A paper that mentions tests from two domains counts under both.

Motor function and endurance

7,074 papers

2,091

1,844

1,354

821

491

11 more tests under Motor function and endurance in the full list

Spatial learning and memory

6,421 papers

5,392

499

339

225

Radial arm water maze

6 more tests under Spatial learning and memory in the full list

Activity and exploration

5,082 papers

Open field

3,980

Wheel running

992

Hole-board

206

3D open field

Depression-like behavior

4,223 papers

Forced swim test

2,988

Sucrose preference test

1,522

Tail suspension test

1,405

Novelty-suppressed feeding

260

Splash test

132

1 more test under Depression-like behavior in the full list

Anxiety-like behavior

3,863 papers

2,883

725

328

245

136

2 more tests under Anxiety-like behavior in the full list

Fear and avoidance

3,637 papers

Fear conditioning

2,010

Passive avoidance

1,142

Active avoidance (shuttle box)

210

Predator odor exposure

185

Step-down avoidance

2 more tests under Fear and avoidance in the full list

Reward and motivation

3,133 papers

Self-administration

1,399

Conditioned place preference

1,078

Operant conditioning

945

Drug discrimination

Real-time place preference

1 more test under Reward and motivation in the full list

Pain and nociception

3,039 papers

1,282

762

545

545

528

5 more tests under Pain and nociception in the full list

Recognition memory

3,019 papers

Novel object recognition

3,019

2 more tests under Recognition memory in the full list

Working memory

2,404 papers

Y-maze

1,988

T-maze

436

Water Y-maze

1 more test under Working memory in the full list

Social behavior

991 papers

Social interaction test

482

Three-chamber sociability test

339

Resident-intruder test

134

Social approach and avoidance

Tube test for social dominance

1 more test under Social behavior in the full list

Home-cage behavior

900 papers

Self-grooming

447

Nest building

422

Burrowing

Sensory function and startle

885 papers

Prepulse inhibition and acoustic startle

804

Olfactory tests

Attention and executive function

393 papers

Touchscreen operant tasks

146

Attentional set shifting

113

Five-choice serial reaction time task

103

Puzzle box

Three-choice serial reaction time task

Tests mentioned together

Of the papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention a test, 36% mention two or more. These are the pairs they mention most often. Open a pair to add a third test and see how many papers mention all three.

Papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention both tests

Open field and elevated plus maze

939

Open field and forced swim test

896

Forced swim test and tail suspension test

893

Forced swim test and sucrose preference test

863

Morris water maze and novel object recognition

846

Forced swim test and elevated plus maze

646

Novel object recognition and Y-maze

609

Morris water maze and Y-maze

607

Build a test battery

Tests by disease model

For each disease model, we count the papers from 2021 to 2025 that use it and mention a test. The model comes from the paper's MeSH terms, the subject headings the National Library of Medicine adds when it indexes a paper. A paper without MeSH terms gets its model from PubTator 3, NCBI's text-mining service, if PubTator 3 finds the disease in the title or abstract. A paper can count under more than one model.

Most mentioned tests for each disease model

Each number is the percent of the model's papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention the test. A paper can mention more than one test, so a model's numbers can add to more than 100%. The table has a column for each test in any model's top three. The columns are grouped by behavioral domain, with a gap between domains.

Percent of the model's papers:
Under 1%
1 to 4%
5 to 9%
10 to 19%
20 to 39%
40% or more

Percent of each disease model's papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention each test
Disease model	Papers, 2021 to 2025	Morris water maze	Y-maze	Novel object recognition	Elevated plus maze	Forced swim test	Sucrose preference test	Tail suspension test	Fear conditioning	Self-administration	Conditioned place preference	Operant conditioning	Three-chamber sociability test	Von Frey test	Hot plate	Formalin test	Treadmill running	Rotarod	Grip strength	Gait analysis	Pole test	Open field	Wheel running	Self-grooming	Prepulse inhibition and acoustic startle
		Percent of the model's papers that mention the test
Cognitive impairment and dementia	4,961	54	19	28	8	3	2	2	7	0.3	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.4	0.2	0.1	2	2	1	0.1	0.2	10	0.7	0.2	1
Alzheimer disease	2,445	60	19	23	6	2	0.7	1	5	<0.1	0	0.3	0.2	0.3	<0.1	0.1	3	2	0.4	0.1	0.1	8	1	0.1	0.4
Stroke and brain ischemia	1,278	32	6	10	4	4	4	2	1	0.1	0	0.5	0.3	0.5	0.1	0	5	19	6	4	0.9	12	2	0	0.2
Brain injury	841	38	7	14	8	6	3	3	5	0.4	0.1	0.1	0.7	1	0.2	0.1	2	18	3	3	0.4	13	2	0.2	1
Diabetes	795	34	9	11	9	7	1	2	2	0.9	0.4	0.6	0.3	8	5	2	14	4	7	0.8	0.3	9	3	0.1	0
Aging	700	26	11	15	5	3	1	1	7	0.7	0.4	0.9	1	0.3	0.1	0.1	9	6	17	1	0.1	8	7	0.3	0.9
Epilepsy and seizures	572	23	9	17	16	8	3	3	3	0.7	0.5	0.9	1	1	1	1	0.9	13	2	0.3	0.2	16	1	1	1
Sleep loss and sleep disorders	400	28	9	10	15	13	7	8	7	3	1	0.5	1	1	1	0.8	4	5	2	0.3	0.3	23	3	0.5	2
Anxiety	3,041	8	6	9	51	19	8	9	9	1	2	0.9	2	2	1	0.2	2	3	0.9	0.1	0.2	32	2	2	3
Depression	2,827	6	3	5	21	64	39	35	2	0.7	0.9	0.5	1	1	0.9	0.3	1	2	0.4	0.1	0.2	34	1	0.7	0.6
Psychological stress	1,484	6	3	5	22	42	32	20	7	2	2	1	1	0.9	0.7	0.1	2	0.4	0.3	0.1	0	26	2	0.9	2
Post-traumatic stress	392	3	3	5	29	10	3	3	57	2	0.8	0.5	0.5	0.8	0.5	0.3	1	0.3	0.3	0	0	13	0	0.3	8
Substance use disorders	1,599	2	1	2	9	4	2	2	2	50	25	11	0.4	0.8	2	0.3	0.9	1	0.2	0.1	0	6	2	0.3	0.9
Autism spectrum disorder	484	10	5	11	13	3	1	0.6	5	0	1	2	27	0.2	1	0.2	2	4	0.4	0.2	0	17	1	22	6
Pain conditions	2,617	2	0.9	2	5	5	2	2	1	1	4	0.8	0.3	38	17	15	2	6	2	6	0	8	2	0.9	0.3
Obesity and high-fat diet	761	16	7	12	10	5	5	2	2	2	0.9	2	0.5	2	0.1	0.1	21	2	9	0.5	0.1	10	12	0.5	0.3
Parkinson disease	918	5	4	6	4	6	4	2	0.9	0.2	0.2	0.8	0.2	1	0.1	0.3	5	36	5	6	11	25	0.9	0.3	0.2
Multiple sclerosis and demyelination	223	15	11	7	7	4	2	5	2	0	0	0.4	0.4	5	2	0.4	7	30	10	5	2	12	3	0.4	2
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis	108	4	0.9	0	0	0	0	0.9	2	0	0.9	0	0	0.9	0	0	6	50	31	11	5	8	2	0	4
Spinal cord injury	382	0.3	0.3	1	0.3	2	1	0.3	0	0	0.8	2	0	13	3	0.5	20	4	5	33	0	11	2	0.8	0.3
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder	107	14	13	14	19	6	3	4	7	3	2	5	0	0.9	0.9	0	0.9	0.9	0	0	0	32	3	3	5
Schizophrenia and psychosis	401	10	7	24	9	8	2	3	6	0.7	3	2	3	0	0	0	0.2	2	0.5	0	0	16	0.7	2	40

Cognitive impairment and dementia 4,961 papers

Alzheimer disease 2,445 papers

Stroke and brain ischemia 1,278 papers

Brain injury 841 papers

Diabetes 795 papers

Aging 700 papers

Epilepsy and seizures 572 papers

Sleep loss and sleep disorders 400 papers

Anxiety 3,041 papers

Depression 2,827 papers

Psychological stress 1,484 papers

Post-traumatic stress 392 papers

Substance use disorders 1,599 papers

Autism spectrum disorder 484 papers

Pain conditions 2,617 papers

Obesity and high-fat diet 761 papers

Parkinson disease 918 papers

Multiple sclerosis and demyelination 223 papers

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 108 papers

Spinal cord injury 382 papers

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder 107 papers

Schizophrenia and psychosis 401 papers

40% Prepulse inhibition and acoustic startle
24% Novel object recognition
16% Open field

Huntington disease, fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome each have fewer than 100 papers from 2021 to 2025 that mention a test in the title or abstract. They are left out here and have no page of their own. Their papers are in the downloads.

Which tests grew and which fell

Animal research papers that mention a test grew from 2,404 in 2001 to 7,115 in 2025, 3.0 times as many. These papers grew faster than animal research as a whole. We can count all animal research only among papers the National Library of Medicine indexed. Among those indexed papers, animal research grew to 1.7 times as many from 2001 to 2025, and papers that mention a test to 2.5 times as many.

The map, the table of all 90 tests and the charts below compare two five-year periods: 26,411 papers mentioned a test in 2011 to 2015 and 32,277 in 2021 to 2025, 1.2 times as many.

2011 to 2015
2021 to 2025, a rise
2021 to 2025, a fall

Among tests of depression-like behavior, sucrose preference (anhedonia) and the splash test (grooming) grew fastest. Sucrose preference papers grew from 542 to 1,522, 2.8 times as many, and splash test papers from 19 to 132, 6.9 times as many. Forced swim papers grew to 1.2 times as many, the same as all tests together.

Sucrose preference test5421,522

2.8 times

Splash test19132

6.9 times

Forced swim test2,4442,988

1.2 times

Among pain tests, von Frey papers grew from 780 to 1,282, 1.6 times as many, while tail flick, writhing and formalin test papers each fell by about a third.

Von Frey test7801,282

1.6 times

Tail flick809545

33% fewer

Writhing test792528

33% fewer

Formalin test790545

31% fewer

Zebrafish were used in 96% of novel tank test papers from 2021 to 2025. The test grew from 46 papers to 245, 5.3 times as many.

Novel tank test46245

5.3 times

Of the three social tests with 100 or more papers in 2021 to 2025, the three-chamber sociability test grew fastest, from 71 papers to 339, 4.8 times as many. Social interaction test papers grew to 1.5 times as many, and resident-intruder test papers fell 6%.

Three-chamber sociability test71339

4.8 times

Social interaction test320482

1.5 times

Resident-intruder test142134

6% fewer

Animal research papers that mention a behavioral test, by year, 2001 to 2026

The 2026 bar counts papers added to PubMed by November 8, 2026.

Papers in a full year
2026 so far

Show the counts for each year

Papers by year
Year	Papers
2001	2,404
2002	2,552
2003	2,746
2004	2,952
2005	3,189
2006	3,357
2007	3,469
2008	3,881
2009	3,948
2010	4,183
2011	4,606
2012	5,076
2013	5,516
2014	5,631
2015	5,582
2016	5,758
2017	5,880
2018	6,100
2019	6,182
2020	6,461
2021	6,786
2022	6,374
2023	5,863
2024	6,139
2025	7,115
2026 (part year)	6,543

Papers that mention a test fell from 6,786 in 2021 to 5,863 in 2023, then rose to 7,115 in 2025. Part of this dip may come from PubMed's indexing rather than from fewer studies. When PubMed's indexing names a paper's species, we use it. Otherwise PubTator 3, NCBI's text-mining service, has to find a species in the title or abstract, or the paper is not counted. Papers that PubMed indexed under the subject heading Animals also fell and rose, from 200,221 in 2021 to 156,447 in 2023 and 235,479 in 2025.

Tests that grew the most

Of the tests with 100 or more papers in 2021 to 2025, these 6 grew the most since 2011 to 2015.

2011 to 2015
2021 to 2025, a rise
2021 to 2025, a fall

Splash test19132

6.9 times

Novel tank test46245

5.3 times

Three-chamber sociability test71339

4.8 times

Touchscreen operant tasks46146

3.2 times

Grip strength4591,354

2.9 times

Y-maze6841,988

2.9 times

Tests that fell the most

Of the tests with 100 or more papers in 2011 to 2015, these 6 fell the most by 2021 to 2025.

2011 to 2015
2021 to 2025, a rise
2021 to 2025, a fall

Step-down avoidance19997

51% fewer

Rotational behavior (rotometer)210110

48% fewer

Drug discrimination12065

46% fewer

Paw pressure test12870

45% fewer

Five-choice serial reaction time task174103

41% fewer

Radial arm maze361225

38% fewer

Which species the papers used

Among papers that mention a test, rats led every year from 2001 to 2019 and mice every year since 2020. In 2025, 3,862 papers used mice and 2,799 used rats. The lead holds without text mining. Counting only papers whose species come from MeSH terms, 3,143 used mice in 2025 and 2,284 used rats.

Papers that mention a behavioral test, by species, 2001 to 2025

Each paper's species comes from its MeSH terms when they name one, and otherwise from PubTator 3.

Mouse
Rat

Mice lead from 2020

Mouse Rat

Show the counts for each year and species

Papers by year, mice and rats
Year	Mouse	Rat
2001	700	1,516
2002	732	1,559
2003	856	1,687
2004	949	1,809
2005	1,020	1,955
2006	1,150	1,949
2007	1,222	2,044
2008	1,426	2,226
2009	1,501	2,197
2010	1,648	2,335
2011	1,849	2,605
2012	2,091	2,729
2013	2,329	2,954
2014	2,310	3,030
2015	2,349	2,928
2016	2,542	2,911
2017	2,624	2,931
2018	2,747	2,937
2019	2,859	2,954
2020	3,043	3,005
2021	3,353	2,998
2022	3,142	2,791
2023	2,996	2,444
2024	3,209	2,548
2025	3,862	2,799

Papers from 2021 to 2025 that use each species

Each bar is a share of the 32,277 papers.

Mouse

16,562 51%

Rat

13,580 42%

Other animals

2,100 7%

Zebrafish

651 2%

Fruit fly

295 1%

Nonhuman primate

188 1%

“Other animals” counts animal research papers that use none of the species above, such as studies in guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, pigs or worms.

How we counted

A count here is the number of papers whose title or abstract mentions a test. It is not a count of experiments, labs or animals.

What counts as mentioning a test

A paper mentions a test when its title or abstract holds one of the test's search terms as whole words, such as “Morris water maze” or “water maze”. Some terms also name other things, so these known cases do not count toward the test they seem to name:

tail suspension used to unload the hind limbs, which is not the tail suspension test
a 12-hour light-dark cycle, which is not the light-dark box
a shuttle box used for passive avoidance, which counts as passive avoidance, not active avoidance

A radial arm water maze or a Cincinnati water maze does not count as a Morris water maze. Each test's search terms are in the test list download.

Other animals make up 45% of nest building papers. For tests like these, check the species shares in the table before reading the count as use in mice or rats.

We started from the behavioral tests our store lists, counting a variant such as an automated Y-maze under its main test. We added 20 well-known tests the store does not list, such as marble burying and the formalin test. In the test list download, these 20 have no store labels. Every test stays on the list, even one with few papers.

A paper that mentions a test only in its methods is missed, so every count runs low.

Which papers count as animal research

A paper counts when the National Library of Medicine's subject indexing (MeSH) names an animal species. When MeSH names no species, as for a paper PubMed has not indexed, the species come from PubTator 3, NCBI's text-mining service, if it finds one in the title or abstract.

From 2021 to 2025, 54,370 papers mentioned a test. We set aside 19,287 that studied only people and 2,806 with no species found, which leaves 32,277. PubTator 3 supplied the species for 6,460 of them.

Of the 962,474 papers the library indexed as animal research from 2021 to 2025, 25,817 (about 3%) mention one of these tests. The library's yearly totals on this page count papers indexed with the MeSH heading Animals, from the same PubMed files.

Which years count

Most counts on this page cover papers published from 2021 to 2025. The yearly series runs from 2001, and 2026 holds papers to November 8, 2026. Each paper counts in the year PubMed gives it.

Which publication types count

Errata, retraction notices, expressions of concern and preprints are left out, so a preprint and its journal version count once. Reviews are counted, and each test's review count is in the test list download.

Check 100 matches yourself

We drew 100 matches at random from the papers of 2021 to 2025. The random sample download gives each one with the text around it and a link to the paper, so you can judge whether the search term named the test. Because the 100 were drawn at random from all matches, the most-mentioned tests fill most of the sample, and rare tests appear rarely or not at all.

Sources and terms of use

Every number comes from dated public files loaded into ConductScience's research database, not from a live search. The “Every counted paper” download lists the papers behind each count.

The four public sources and their terms of use
Source	What it gives	Terms of use
PubMed	Titles, abstracts, years, subject indexing and publication types, from the yearly and daily files	Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
PubTator 3	Species and diseases it finds in the title or abstract, for papers the library has not indexed, with the diseases in the downloads	A U.S. Government work, free to use
iCite	Citation counts, in the downloads	CC BY 4.0, from the NIH Office of Portfolio Analysis
NIH RePORTER	Links from papers to NIH projects, in the downloads	Public domain

The files we read, with their sizes and checksums

The files behind every count
File	Size in bytes	SHA-256 checksum, or the records it holds
1,306 PubMed yearly files, combined November 7, 2026	35,813,134,336	Records to August 31, 2026
387 PubMed daily update files, combined November 9, 2026	2,849,685,504	Records to November 8, 2026
PubTator 3 concepts, dated October 6, 2026	6,138,750,462	5a4254321d98daad0e6f35dda44410eade91b289466e6c1a146fb4b9645718cc
PubMed grant lists, dated November 6, 2026	215,877,122	39b1d9d845447564f93c2929e8d471aadc92f779915bf8f0058210dfaf754c7a
iCite citation counts, dated November 5, 2026	340,402,664	b417e4eb8a56f37497f299a4cc78e3406db02be19e9733a863657fb426bc368b
46 NIH RePORTER link tables, one per year, dated November 1, 2026	65,710,918	Each file’s checksum is in the “All numbers” download

Downloads

Released November 10, 2026. CSV files open in any spreadsheet, and the compressed one needs unzipping first.

Test list One row per test: its papers in each period, its species, reviews, store labels and search terms. CSV

Papers by test and year One row per test and year, with the papers in mice and in rats. CSV

Every counted paper One row for each test an animal paper mentions, by PubMed ID, with the paper's species and disease models. CSV, compressed

Random sample of matches 100 matches drawn at random, each with the text around it and a link to the paper. CSV

All numbers Every number on this page, with each source file's size and checksum. JSON

How to cite

APA

ConductScience. (2026, November 10). Behavioral tests in published research [Data set]. https://conductscience.com/resources/data/behavioral-tests

BibTeX

@misc{conductscience_behavioral_tests_2026,
  author = {{ConductScience}},
  title = {Behavioral tests in published research},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  url = {https://conductscience.com/resources/data/behavioral-tests},
  note = {Data set, released November 10, 2026},
}

Release history

Releases of this data
Released	What changed
November 10, 2026	We added a page for each of the 72 tests with 30 or more papers from 2021 to 2025, and for 22 disease models. We narrowed the search terms for 11 tests that also matched other meanings, such as cat hair in allergy studies. PubTator 3 now supplies a species or disease model only when it finds one in the title or abstract, the text we search. Labels from some papers' full text had made most disease models appear to fall in 2024. We renamed chronic stress to psychological stress, the name of the MeSH heading behind it, which also covers acute stress.
November 10, 2026	First release: 90 tests, PubMed to November 8, 2026

Apparatus for 68 of the 90 tests

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