Comparison of conditioned fear and anxiety behavior in previously handled versus nonhandled young adult female rats. (A) Experimental protocol. (B) Histogram showing mean ± SEM of % freezing, with individual dots overlaid representing individual animals. Data analyzed by unpaired bicaudal Student's t-test (t(18) = 2.62; P < 0.0174). a: (different from nonhandled females). (C) Histogram showing mean ± SEM of the % time spent in open and closed arms, with individual dots overlaid representing individual animals. Data analyzed by independent one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc test (F(3, 36) = 66.86, P < 0.0001). No significant difference was found between the mean time spent in the open and closed arms for handled and nonhandled rats.
