Movement trajectory
Visualize the tracked path across the open arms, closed arms and center of the maze for the selected analysis interval.
ELEVATED PLUS MAZE ANALYSIS
Elevated Plus Maze Analysis Software for Rodent Research
Analyze Elevated Plus Maze recordings directly in your browser. Upload your video, define the five-region maze geometry, configure the analysis, and generate official, tracker-derived arm and time metrics — with Head Dip reported separately as a diagnostic measure.
Browser-based workflow · Official tracker-derived metrics · Separate diagnostic measures1Upload recording2Define maze geometry3Configure analysis4Review official + diagnostic results
Five regions, one calibrated arena
The Elevated Plus Maze arena editor defines two open arms, two closed arms and a center platform. Every official metric is derived from which of these five regions the tracked animal occupies, confirmed over time to reduce boundary jitter at arm junctions.
Open Arm 1Open Arm 2Closed Arm 1Closed Arm 2Center
What can you measure?
Official Elevated Plus Maze metrics are calculated from the tracked bounding-box center only. Zone changes are temporally confirmed before they count as an entry, and invalid arm-to-arm transitions are excluded from official entry counts.
Open and closed arm time
Time and percentage of observed behavioral time spent in open arms, closed arms and the center, from temporally confirmed zone states.
Arm entries
Confirmed open-arm, closed-arm and total arm entries, plus the percentage of entries that were into an open arm.
Latency to first open-arm entry
Time from analysis start to the first confirmed open-arm entry, including whether the subject started in an open arm.
Per-arm breakdown
Entry count and dwell time for each of the two open arms and two closed arms individually.
Tracking and transition quality
Tracking coverage, classified behavioral coverage, and counts of invalid transitions or suppressed boundary jitter.
Scientific interpretation
RodentMetrics reports quantitative, operational measurements of arm occupancy, entries and latency. Open-arm behavior is widely used in Elevated Plus Maze research, but these values are not an automatic diagnosis of anxiety-like state; interpretation remains the researcher's responsibility.
Pose-derived measures are reported separately, never blended in
Head Dip is calculated from pose estimation, not from the tracker bounding-box center used for official metrics. It is shown on a dedicated diagnostics view, clearly labeled, and never changes official arm time, entries or latency.
Head Dip is diagnostic-only
Total, protected and unprotected head dips and the protected-head-dip percentage are available when pose evidence passes a quality gate; otherwise they are reported as unavailable rather than estimated. RodentMetrics does not report Stretch-Attend Posture (SAP) or any other unvalidated ethological measure as part of a normal result.
Read the full EPM arm-entries, time and Head Dip methodology guide
Designed for controlled Elevated Plus Maze recordings
Reliable arm classification depends on the full maze — both open arms, both closed arms and the center platform — remaining visible and stable throughout the recording.
- Fixed overhead camera
- All four arms and the center platform visible
- Stable camera and maze position
- Consistent lighting across open and closed arms
- Adequate contrast between the animal and maze surface
- One animal as the primary moving subject
- Minimal movement from unrelated objects
SHARED PLATFORM
The same workspace as Open Field Test
Elevated Plus Maze and Open Field Test experiments live in the same workspace and use the same credit-based billing, with results and visualizations kept alongside your analysis history.
BROWSER-BASED WORKFLOW
No desktop tracking software
Upload a recording, calibrate the maze in the browser-based arena editor, and run the analysis from your workspace — no local installation required.
SCIENTIFIC TRANSPARENCY
Measurements, not automated conclusions
Elevated Plus Maze measurements can provide quantitative information about arm preference, locomotion and time allocation, but biological interpretation depends on experimental conditions, protocol and prior handling. RodentMetrics reports measurements and visualizations rather than assigning a diagnostic or emotional-state conclusion to an experiment.
Elevated Plus Maze analysis questions
Is Head Dip an official Elevated Plus Maze metric?
No. Head Dip is a pose-derived diagnostic measure shown separately from official metrics. It never changes official arm time, entries or latency, and is marked unavailable rather than estimated when pose evidence is insufficient.
Does RodentMetrics report Stretch-Attend Posture (SAP)?
No. SAP is not reported as part of a normal Elevated Plus Maze result.
How is an arm entry counted?
An entry is a temporally confirmed transition of the tracked bounding-box center from one region into another. Transitions that do not hold long enough to be confirmed are treated as boundary jitter and excluded from official entry counts.
Can I analyze Open Field Test and Elevated Plus Maze in the same workspace?
Yes. Both assays are available from the same account, credit balance and experiment history, with assay-specific configuration and results.
Turn your Elevated Plus Maze recordings into official metrics
Upload a recording, define the maze geometry and run your analysis directly through RodentMetrics.