Anxiolytic and anxiogenic drug effects on exploratory activity in an elevated plus-maze: a novel test of anxiety in the rat.

The current studies further investigated the effects, in animal models of anxiety, of novel putative anxiolytic and anxiogenic compounds believed to induce their effects by actions at the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complex to provide further validation for a novel test of anxiety based on the ratio of open to closed arm entries in an elevated plus maze in the rat.