Fig. 2.

Balancing process based on fictional data. (A) Cumulative scores of each variable should be incorporated into the data matrix. (B-C) Then, one empty data matrix per group should be created, and the subjects’ data should be added following the sorting order in the source matrix. (D) Once the group differences reach the lowest scores in all the variables of interest, the researcher should perform a One-way ANOVA to identify possible significant differences. The variability of the scores should be carefully observed and aimed to keep it homogenous between groups. Notice that in our fictional data, there is only one littermate in each group. However, because litter information is usually unavailable, balancing littermates between groups is not always possible. As behavioral responses to the CT greatly differs between individuals, their assignment should be carefully performed to avoid a biased or unbalanced distribution to the experimental groups.