The effects of electrode location and baseline anxiety on kindling-induced anxiety in the rat

A series of three experiments were completed to further study the relation of kindled site and baseline anxiety levels to plus maze behavior in Wistar rats. Results indicated that the behavioral outcomes found one week post kindling for animals kindled in central amygdala, the medial amygdala, the basolateral amygdala, and the nucleus basalis differed depending on the location of the kindled site. In addition, the results showed that the nature of behavioral outcomes for animals kindled in the right medial amygdala and basolateral amygdala were dependent on pre-kindling baseline anxiety levels, measured using a novel retest procedure. Taken together, the above results indicate that both location of kindled site and the pre-kindling baseline anxiety levels of rats play a role in determining post-kindling behavioral outcomes in the elevated plus maze. These results may explain inconsistencies in previous studies related to the behavioral effects of kindling