Fig. 1: Mice display stereotyped aversive responses to height exposure.

Different phases (a) and typical postures (b) of stereotyped behaviors of mice on an open high platform (OHP). c Diagrams of enclosed platforms and the OHP used in behavioral tests. The two enclosed platforms, matching the OHP in size and height (20 × 20 × 30 cm), feature either non-transparent (gray) (GWP) or transparent (TWP) walls. The central zone (16 × 16 cm, dashed-line square) and the peripheral zone (Per) are delineated. d Representative locomotion traces of mice over 30 min on GWP, TWP, and OHP, with central zone boundaries (red dash lines). Quantitative analysis of mice rearing up (e), locomotion (f), grooming (g), and trembling (h) behaviors on three different types of elevated platforms. Cross-session facilitation of fear of heights. Mice underwent two 30-min exposure trials to the OHP. The color of the OHP and the surrounding environment during the second trial were either identical (i) or different (j) from that of the first trial. Total locomotion distance (Total), locomotion distance at the peripheral zone (Per), the locomotion distance of the nose tip outside the platform (Out), and the total trembling duration of animals in the two trials of the OHP test are shown in the histograms. Data in (e)–(j) are presented as mean ± S.E.M. from n = 10 mice/group. Pink dots symbolize individual mice. Statistical analyses are One-Way ANOVA with post-hoc t-tests in (e)–(h), and a two-tailed (^#) Student’s t-test in (i) and (j). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.