Adapting the Open Field Test to Assess Anxiety-Related Behavior in Zebrafish

The open field test is a well-established paradigm for assaying anxiety-related behaviors and has been successfully employed in a broad range of species. We describe an adaptation of this test for the zebrafish, which is increasingly widely used as a model for anxiety-related behavior and stress responsiveness. This test can be performed with direct observation and requires only relatively simple equipment, but is also amenable to computerized behavioral analysis either from recorded behavioral trials or in real time. The results of this open field test adaptation comparing across zebrafish lines are consistent with results from other tests of anxiety-related behaviors in zebrafish, supporting its use as a measure of anxiety-related behavioral phenotypes and their genetic and genomic correlates.