Table 1.
Mean (±SEM) number of closed and total arm entries, total distance traveled (m), and velocity (cm/sec) by rats in the plus-maze (trials 1 and 2)
| Locomotor measures | Vehicle (saline) | Midazolam (μg) | Fratio | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | 1 | 2 | |||
| No. of closed entries | |||||
| trial 1 | 8.5 ± 0.1 | 7.5 ± 1.0 | 7.3 ± 0.4 | 7.3 ± 0.5 | 0.9 |
| trial 2 | 11.4 ± 1.0 | 10.1 ± 1.5 | 11.8 ± 1.0 | 8.9 ± 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Total arm entries | |||||
| trial 1 | 12.2 ± 0.7 | 12.6 ± 0.9 | 12.9 ± 0.8 | 12.0 ± 0.8 | 0.1 |
| trial 2 | 13.7 ± 1.2 | 11.8 ± 1.6 | 14.6 ± 0.9 | 11.2 ± 1.4 | 1.5 |
| Distance (m) | |||||
| trial 1 | 12.4 ± 0.4 | 10.9 ± 0.5 | 12.4 ± 0.6 | 13.2 ± 1.4 | 0.8 |
| trial 2 | 13.2 ± 1.0 | 12.0 ± 9.3 | 13.4 ± 0.7 | 10.4 ± 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Velocity (cm/sec) | |||||
| trial 1 | 4.2 ± 0.1 | 3.6 ± 0.2 | 4.1 ± 0.2 | 4.4 ± 0.5 | 1.1 |
| trial 2 | 4.4 ± 0.3 | 4.0 ± 0.4 | 4.5 ± 0.2 | 3.4 ± 0.5 | 1.6 |
| Locomotor (beam breaks) | |||||
| naive | 520.3 ± 35.3 | 550.5 ± 46.5 | 530.1 ± 34.1 | 528.0 ± 33.8 | 0.9 |
| experience | 594.0 ± 28.7 | 535.9 ± 27.1 | 584.9 ± 34.1 | 511.7 ± 29.3 | 1.7 |
| Rears (beam breaks) | |||||
| naive | 37.5 ± 1.6 | 39.0 ± 1.3 | 37.1 ± 4.6 | 35.9 ± 2.4 | 0.9 |
| experience | 31.9 ± 2.0 | 38.4 ± 5.2 | 32.1 ± 2.1 | 38.1 ± 5.4 | 1.2 |
Locomotor activity and rears made by animals naive or experienced with the plus-maze were automatically recorded as infrared beam breaks, under high light, unfamiliar test conditions in the social interaction test after intra-DRN injections. The F ratios refer to the midazolam factor and in all cases were nonsignificant.