Research data supporting "Hilton et al., Reactivity to conditioned threat cues is distinct from exploratory drive in the elevated plus-maze"

To better characterize potential impacts of prior aversive experience on EPM performance a series of experiments were carried out that systematically varied the time since stimulus presentation and the modality of the conditioning stimulus. Furthermore, we examined whether the EPM measurements taken days before or after threat conditioning measurements held any relationship. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects. Subjects were 104 adult male Lister-Hooded rats (Charles River and Envigo, UK) weighing approx. 250–300g at the start of experiments. All animals were housed in groups of four per cage and kept under a reversed 12 h light/dark cycle (lights off 07:00 h until 19:00 h) and were provided with food and water ad libitum, except for during behavioral procedures, which were conducted during the rats’ dark cycle. The rats were randomly assigned to each group and experimenters were blind to group allocation for subsequent analysis. This research was conducted on Project Licence 70/7548 and has been regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 Amendment Regulations 2012 following ethical review by the University of Cambridge Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB). See materials and methods for full details.

为更精准地表征既往厌恶性经历对高架十字迷宫（Elevated Plus Maze，EPM）行为学表现的潜在影响，我们开展了一系列实验，系统调控了刺激呈现后的间隔时长与条件化刺激的模态类型。此外，我们还探究了在威胁条件化实验前后数日采集的EPM测量指标是否存在相关性。材料与方法：实验对象。本研究共纳入104只成年雄性Lister-Hooded大鼠，购自英国Charles River与Envigo公司，实验开始时体重约为250~300g。所有动物均以每笼4只的规格群体饲养，维持12小时反转光暗周期（关灯时段为07:00至19:00），且自由采食饮水，仅行为学测试期间禁食禁水；行为学测试均安排在大鼠的暗周期内进行。所有大鼠被随机分配至各组，且后续分析的实验者对分组情况采用盲法操作。本研究的项目许可编号为70/7548，严格遵循《1986年动物（科学程序）法案2012年修订条例》开展，并已通过剑桥大学动物福利与伦理审查委员会（AWERB）的伦理审查。详细实验流程请参见材料与方法部分。