Purpose: To develop a mouse behavioral assay that can assess differential nocioceptive sensitivity to light (photophobia).
Materials and methods: Normal C57BL/6J mice and congenic albino mice, C57BL/6J-Tyr c-2J/j, were habituated to a light/dark box testing chamber and then tested for a preference for the dark versus the light compartment in response to increasing brightness of the light compartment.
Results: We found a statistically significant difference between the normal and the albino mice (N = 5/strain) in their preference for the dark compartment when the ambient condition in the light compartment was 1,000 lux, whereas at 0 lux, both groups of animals exhibited no preference for either compartment.
Conclusions: The approach described here presents the first mouse behavioral assay for assessing aversion/avoidance behavior in response to light that appears to be comparable to human photophobia. This approach can be used to test other causes of sustained photophobia in mouse models, as well as to assess the efficacy of drugs for the relief of photophobia.