Although marble burying has long been used as a model to assess anxiolytics, the data derived from this assay do not necessarily correlate directly with exploratory models of anxiety-like behavior, such as the open field test or the light/dark box test (Thomas et al., 2009). Marble burying is also reduced by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants and anti-psychotics (Broekkamp et al., 1986; Njung'e and Handley, 1991a), calling into question its specificity as a test of anxiety. Despite these caveats, given its sensitivity to anxiolytics, marble burying is generally accepted as a model of anxiety disorders marked by compulsive and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (Thomas et al., 2009).
