The open field is used in several kinds of research, such as on anxiety, exploration, and locomotor behavior. Choose any size or shape of open field, and combine it with EthoVision XT to create the perfect solution.

• Automatically calculate and analyze data on the position of the animal relative to its open field, such as the time spent in the center of the open field.
• Detect and analyze body immobility and elongation automatically, as measures of fear and exploration respectively.
• Increase your throughput by tracking animals in multiple open fields simultaneously.
• Automatic start of tracking in an open field as soon as the animal is introduced in that particular open field.
• Choose any size or shape of open field.
• Benefit from the powerful data selection and the wealth of parameters to analyze your animal's behavior in detail.

Introduction
The open field test is a generally accepted paradigm for measurement of anxiety-related, explorative, and locomotor behavior in animals. The open field, usually a round or square arena, often represents a novel environment, which induces this behavior. The test procedure is usually pretty straightforward: the animal is placed in the open field during a defined period and behaviors are recorded.

Combine EthoVision® XT with one of the open field arenas we supply to create the perfect solution for the collection and analysis of movement, activity, and behavior of your animals. Or combine multiple open fields to increase your throughput and save time and effort.

How it works
A typical open field set-up consists of an open field arena with a video camera positioned straight above it. You can also combine multiple arenas with one video camera. Images recorded are sent to the computer running the EthoVision XT software. You can choose to track your animals live, or record the video and track later. After tracking you can select the data you want to visualize and analyze, based on independent variables (such as age or treatment group) or parameter values (such as the position in the open field).

When using the open field to measure anxiety-related behavior, the outer zone is of particular interest. Anxious animals tend to stay close to the walls, a behavioral response referred to as thigmotaxis. In EthoVision XT you can easily define zones of interest within the open field arena. In this case, you can specify an inner and outer zone. Then, after tracking is completed, use these zones for data selection and analysis. For example, calculate the percentage of time spent in the outer zone, the number of inner zone entries, and the latency to the first visit to the inner zone.

EthoVision XT not only measures position related parameters but with the ability to detect the nose point and tail base it can also calculate several other parameters which are often used in open field tests: immobility and elongation. Elongation of the animal’s body is often considered a response to an environment that incites both fear and curiosity. The time spent immobile typically serves as a measure of fear. In EthoVision XT, you can define the thresholds for mobility and elongation yourself. The state of the animal that Etho-Vision XT records as ‘immobile’ can be used as a measure for freezing and ‘stretched’ can be used as a measure for a stretch attend posture. EthoVision XT’s integrated visualization displays the video and the track, along with plotting the parameter values in sync, which can be a great help in identifying these postures or states of mobility.

You can program EthoVision XT to automatically start and stop tracking as soon as certain user-definable conditions are met, such as start tracking as soon as the animal is detected in the arena. This feature is especially useful if you are tracking animals in multiple arenas simultaneously: EthoVision XT will apply this start condition to each individual arena separately. By using this cascading start option, you no longer need to worry about placing the animals in their open field at the exact same time.