Table 5.
Emotion-related tests.
| Methods | Purpose | Timepoint | Apparatus | Measurement index | Range of normal value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Elevated Plus Maze | Testing for anxiety | D30 post-surgery (75). | Consists of two arms and looks like a cross, one of the arms has walls around, called an enclosed arm, while the other without walls is the open arm. The maze for the rat is 50 cm × 10 cm × 50 cm [86]. The maze for the mice is 45 cm × 11 cm × 22 cm, and 80 cm above the ground (138) | The percentage of time spent in the open arm and the entries into the open arm | For rats: the percentage of time spent in the open arm: around 30% (139) For mice: the number of entries into the open arm: around 3 times (140). |
| 2. Sucrose preference test | Testing for anhedonia and depression | D18-21 post-surgery (141) | Consists of two bottles, one of which is used to hold 1% sugar solution and the other holds pure water (141) | The sugar solution preference is calculated by following formula: the sugar solution consumption (g)/[pure water consumption (g) + sugar solution consumption (g)] | For rats: ~70% (142) For mice: around 90% (56) |
| 3. Tail suspension test | Testing for depression | D21 post-surgery (57) | A hanging box (55 cm × 60 cm × 11.5 cm), Polycarbonate tube (4 cm in length, outside diameter 1.6 cm, inner diameter 1.3 cm), and packaging tape (57) | The duration of stationary time | 150–300 s in mice (143) |
| 4. Open field test | Testing for anxiety-like emotion in post-stroke pain models | D30 post-surgery (75) | An open-field box (100 cm × 100 cm × 100 cm), the bottom of which is subdivided into 16 equal squares, and a computerized tracking system (144, 145) | The duration in the outer and inner zone | For rats: ~50 s in the inner zone (145). For mice: the duration in the outer zone is around 350 s, and in the inner zone is around 200 s (144) |
| 5. Forced swim test | Analysis of depressive-like behavior | D22 post-surgery (146) | A container (50 cm high and 20 cm in diameter for rats, 20 cm high and 22 cm in diameter for mice) filled with water (146, 147) | The duration of immobility, climbing time and swimming time | For rats: the mean immobility time of 125–150 s, a mean struggling time of 75–100 s, and a mean swimming time of 200–225 s (147) For mice: a mean immobility duration of 120–140 s, a mean climbing time of 20–40 s, and a mean swimming time of 70–90 s (146) |