PLOS ONE · 17 authors, 9 centres
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This systematic review and meta-analysis of 165 rodent studies found that thigmotaxis (a predator-avoidance behavior) was increased in models of persistent pain and reduced by analgesic drug treatments. However, the behavior's usefulness may be limited because it correlated with locomotor function.
This systematic review and meta-analysis pooled data from 165 preclinical studies using rats and mice. The analysis compared thigmotaxis in open field tests between injury/disease models and controls, and assessed the effect of analgesic drug treatments. The central result was that thigmotaxis was significantly increased in persistent pain models compared to controls (SMD = -3.35) and was attenuated by drug treatments (SMD = 2.18). Limitations included high statistical heterogeneity, poor reporting of methodological quality leading to unclear risk of bias, and insufficient data for conclusive subgroup or meta-regression analyses. The findings imply thigmotaxis is a sensitive but potentially confounded measure in these preclinical models.
