Strain Differences in Behavioral Inhibition in a Go/No-go Task Demonstrated Using 15 Inbred Mouse Strains

• Published in: Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research Vol. 34; no. 8; pp. 1353 - 1362
• Main Authors: Gubner, Noah R., Wilhelm, Clare J., Phillips, Tamara J., Mitchell, Suzanne H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2010; Wiley
• Subjects: Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Ethanol; Go/No-go; Heritability; Impulsive Behavior - genetics; Impulsive Behavior - psychology; Impulsivity; Inbred Strains; Inhibition; Inhibition, Psychological; Locomotion; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, 129 Strain; Mice, Inbred A; Mice, Inbred AKR; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C3H; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred CBA; Mice, Inbred DBA; Mice, Inbred NZB; Motor Activity - genetics; Motor Activity - physiology; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Species Specificity; Toxicology; Behavioral inhibition; Impulsivity; Ethanol; Rodentia; Strain specificity; Strain; Alcoholic beverage; Locomotion; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; Go/No-go; Animal; Go/NoGo task; Inbred Strains; Inbred; Heritability; Inhibitor; Mice; Inhibition
• ISSN: 0145-6008; 1530-0277; 1530-0277
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01219.x

Background:  High levels of impulsivity have been associated with a number of substance abuse disorders including alcohol abuse. Research has not yet revealed whether these high levels predate the development of alcohol abuse. Methods:  The current study examined impulsivity in 15 inbred strains of mice (A/HeJ, AKR/J, BALB/cJ, C3H/HeJ, C57BL/6J, C57L/J, C58/J, CBA/J, DBA/1J, DBA/2J, NZB/B1NJ, PL/J, SJL/J, SWR/J, and 129P3/J) using a Go/No‐go task, which was designed to measure a subject’s ability to inhibit a behavior. Numerous aspects of response to ethanol and other drugs of abuse have been examined in these strains. Results:  There were significant strain differences in the number of responses made during the No‐go signal (false alarms) and the extent to which strains responded differentially during the Go and No‐go signals (d′). The rate of responding prior to the cue did not differ among strains, although there was a statistically significant correlation between false alarms and precue responding that was not related to basal activity level. Interstrain correlations suggested that false alarms and rate of responding were associated with strain differences in ethanol‐related traits from the published literature. Conclusions:  The results of this study do support a link between innate level of impulsivity and response to ethanol and are consistent with a genetic basis for some measures of behavioral inhibition.