Aug 21, 2025
Open field test in rats
Forked from Open field test in rats
- Eduard Bentea1,
- María Sanchiz Calvo1,
- Veerle Baekelandt1
- 1Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Protocol Citation: Eduard Bentea, María Sanchiz Calvo, Veerle Baekelandt 2025. Open field test in rats. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.rm7vzqw78vx1/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: June 24, 2025
Last Modified: August 21, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 220874
Keywords: ASAPCRN, motor function, behavioral test, rats, open field test in rat, open field test in rats protocol, mobility during the open field test, open field test, nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurotransmission show, decreased nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurotransmission show, parkinson, spontaneous locomotion, min free exploration of an open field arena, open field arena, rats protocol, mobility, test
Funders Acknowledgements:
ASAP (Aligning Science Across Parkinson's)
Abstract
Protocol for performing the open field test in rats. The open field test measures spontaneous locomotion during 5-min free exploration of an open field arena (1m x 1m), and can be used to measure hypolocomotion in animal models of Parkinson's disease. Rats with decreased nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurotransmission show decreased mobility during the open field test.
Troubleshooting
Test
1h 5m
Bring cages to the behavioral room for at least 01:00:00 prior to the test for habituation
1h
Place rat individually in a clean open field arena (1m x 1m)
Video tape from above for 00:05:00 and record parameters of spontaneous activity (distance traveled, movement time, immobility) using an activity tracking software.
5m
Clean arena with mild soap solution