A comparison of 129S2/SvHsd and C57BL/6JOlaHsd mice on a test battery assessing sensorimotor, affective and cognitive behaviours: implications for the study of genetically modified mice

• Published in: Behavioural brain research Vol. 124; no. 1; pp. 33 - 46
• Main Authors: Contet, Candice, Rawlins, J.Nicholas P, Deacon, Robert M.J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 28.09.2001; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Affect - physiology; Animal ethology; Animals; Anxiety; Arousal - genetics; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition; Exploratory Behavior - physiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic modification; Locomotion; Locomotion - genetics; Mammalia; Mice; Mice, Neurologic Mutants - genetics; Models, Genetic; Motor Skills - physiology; Mouse; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Species Specificity; Strain comparison; Test battery; Vertebrata; Locomotion; Test battery; Mouse; Strain comparison; Cognition; Anxiety; Genetic modification; Affect affectivity; Laboratory study; Exploratory behavior; Transgenic animal; Spatial ability; Strain; Sensorimotor coordination; Animal activity; Acquisition process; Environment novelty; Problem solving; Working memory; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0166-4328; 1872-7549
• DOI: 10.1016/S0166-4328(01)00231-5

Mice from the 129S2/SvHsd (129) and C57BL/6JOlaHsd (C57) strains were assessed for performance on a test battery including sensorimotor, affective and cognitive measures, using established as well as modified paradigms. Marked strain differences were observed in measures of locomotion, motor coordination and anxiety: the 129 mice were typically less active and more anxious. In contrast, the strains did not markedly differ in muscular strength, habituation to an open field or spatial working memory. The data provide baseline parameters of behaviour against which genetically modified lines derived from these particular parental strains can be assessed.