The light-dark box (LDB) test is a behavioral apparatus that measures the anxiety state of mice or rats by utilizing the conflict between their innate tendency to prefer darkness and avoid light, and their motivation to explore novel environments.
The core of the experiment is to measure the behavioral choices made by the animals amid the conflict between "exploring the new environment" and "avoiding the bright area." Animals with a higher level of anxiety will tend to stay in the safe dark compartment.
It is used to verify whether modeling methods such as chronic stress have successfully induced anxiety-like behaviors.
