Light-Dark Transtition Test

The light-dark transtition test is often used to assess various models of stress and anxiety, as well as the effects of anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications. Some commonly used antidepressants were tested in a light-dark box during their early development.

Our company focuses on providing customers with a full set of professional light-dark transtition testing services, including the design of experimental protocols, control of testing processes and analysis of experimental data. We help our customers save time and effort in anti-anxiety drug screening and activity evaluation and continue to innovate.

Introduction of Light-Dark Transtition Test

The light-dark transtition test is a common model for assessing anxiety. The experimental setup consists of two chambers, light and dark. The dark chamber accounts for one-third of the total volume, and the light chamber accounts for the remaining two-thirds. The experiment was established using the rodents' natural aversion to bright areas and their spontaneous exploration behavior for new environments and light. These two contradictory emotions lead to significant signs of anxiety in experimental animals.

Fig. 1 Curcumin partly improved visual function in light-dark transition test in rd1 mice. (Wang, 2017)

During the test, the experimental animals were free to move freely between light and dark spaces. Our video tracking system can detect and record the exploratory behavior of laboratory animals in bright and dark rooms for our customers.

Experimental Flow

Our company is committed to providing more professional and flexible behavioral testing services. Just describe your experimental purpose and demands to us, and we can provide customized testing services to our customers.

Here, we show our customers the experimental procedure as an example of a specific protocol for pharmacological evaluation of anxiolytic activity of a test substance.

• Mice were weighed and randomly grouped according to their body weight, and ten mice per group.
• Mice were administered orally, and the dose and time of administration were recorded. The tests were performed in alternating order for each group of experimental animals.
• After a certain time of administration, the mice were placed in the center of the light box with their backs facing the partition. The experiment was conducted in a quiet environment.
• Video tracking system to record the exploration activities of mice within 5 min.

Experimental Indexes

• Number of shuttles between light and dark boxes.
• The time spent in the light box and the dark box respectively.
• Distance of activity in the light box.

Our company provides scientific data analysis services that use recorded experimental parameters to assess anxiety responses in animals and help customers identify and screen anxiolytic drugs.

Features of Light-Dark Transtition Test

• No prior training of experimental animals or adaptation to the experimental environment is required prior to the experiment.
• All ages and strains of rodents can be used for light and dark box testing.
• With or without induced anxiety-like behaviors, light-dark transtition tests can provide ample experimental sites for pharmacological or behavioral interventions to reduce stress and anxiety levels in rodents.

Our company offers professional one-stop services from experimental design to results analysis to bring breakthroughs to your research. We guarantee on-time delivery of test results. If you need, you can contact us at any time.

Reference

1. Wang, Y.; et al. Curcumin Delays Retinal Degeneration by Regulating Microglia Activation in The Retina of rd1 Mice. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry. 2017, 44(2):479-493.