Kinder Scientific’s Elevated Plus Maze has higher resolution and specially created measures that enhance your ability to quantify anxiety. For example, with beams mounted on the edge of the open arms, we capture the animal hanging its head over the edge. Going out on the cliff is one thing, hanging over the edge of it is another! And the Elevated Plus Maze’s high resolution can separate arms into multiple zones. These multiple zones report how far an animal retreats from the intersection into closed arms and how far it dares go into the open arms, a truly unique ability in quantifying the animal’s emotions!

As with all our activity systems, the Elevated Plus Maze system has been designed with advanced features and ease-of-use in mind. It uses Windows compatible MotorMonitor software, common throughout our activity line.

MotorMonitor’s post analysis software provides greater flexibility in analyzing and re-analyzing data based on different parameters. The measure “Pokes Into Zone” was specially designed for the Elevated Plus Maze; it differentiates between an animal’s complete entry into a zone and when it conducts only a small head poke into a zone. The Motor Monitors’ advanced diagnostics uses the exclusive Kinder Scientific 4 level test which runs automatically before each session. Each Elevated Plus Maze operates through a single cable.  This makes for an exceptionally clean connection setup by eliminating the “rats nest” of cables of the past! And, the cables are available at your local computer store, providing easy and cost effective replacement! Because of its unique design, it is possible to run 2 more Elevated Plus Mazes simultaneously, thereby increasing throughput! Elevated Plus Maze systems are available in both rat and mouse versions.

All Kinder Scientific Elevated Plus Mazes are constructed of high quality, square aluminum tubing that is precisely machined. This method allows you to collapse the Elevated Plus Maze in just a few minutes for storage! The Elevated Plus Maze collapses down to 15″ by 44″ as demonstrated in the picture above. All surfaces that the animal comes into contact with are made of high quality cast Plexiglas and are also machined for accuracy.

The Elevated Plus Maze’s dimensions have been selected from a literature review of plus mazes and are the most common dimensions used. Additionally the electronic beam configuration contains the following features:
1. 32 Total Position Beams – 16 X beams and 16 Y beams providing the highest resolution system available. This permits 6 beams for each arm and 2 additional beams, which finitely capture the subject when located in the intersection.
2. The high density beams also permit the capture of “corner stretches”, a common risk assessment behavior.