Jan 30, 2025
Open Field Behavior in Mice
- Yue Sun1,
- Richard H. Roth1,
- Fuu-Jiun Hwang1,
- Jun B. Ding1
- 1Stanford University
Protocol Citation: Yue Sun, Richard H. Roth, Fuu-Jiun Hwang, Jun B. Ding 2025. Open Field Behavior in Mice. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.81wgbr94qlpk/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: January 22, 2025
Last Modified: January 30, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 118909
Keywords: ASAPCRN, open field, mouse
Funders Acknowledgements:
Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP)
Grant ID: ASAP-020551
Abstract
The open field test is widely used to assess spontaneous locomotor activity, exploratory behavior, and anxiety-like responses in rodents.
Attachments
Materials
Open field arena: 50 x 50 x 50 cm chambers
Video recording: A camera mounted on the ceiling above the chambers, adjusted to ensure full coverage of the arena.
Safety warnings
Wear appropriate PPE as required by your institution.
Ethics statement
Prior ethics approval (e.g. IACUC) should be obtained before performing these experiments. Approval was obtained by the Stanford University IACUC before any procedures were performed.
Procedure
Procedure
Place the mouse gently in the center of the open field arena.
Start recording.
The test can last between 15 and 60 minutes, depending on the experimental design.
After allotted time, stop the recording and return the mouse to its home cage.
Optional observation: Record the number of fecal boli and urine spots as additional indicators of anxiety.
Thoroughly clean the chambers with 70% ethanol between trials and after testing to eliminate odor cues from previous animals.