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Learning, memory and search strategies of inbred mouse strains with different visual abilities in the Barnes maze.

Behavioural brain research | 2011

Visuo-spatial learning and memory were assessed in male and female mice of 13 inbred strains on a small diameter mouse version of the Barnes maze surrounded by a wall and intra-maze visual cues. Mice completed acquisition and reversal training to assess learning, followed by a probe test to assess memory for the spatial location of the escape hole. The C57BL/6J and CAST/EiJ strains showed better learning performance than the other strains. A/J and 129/SvImJ strains showed poor learning performance, which may be due to their low rates of exploration. No differences in memory were found between strains in the probe test. Males showed better learning performance than females in the DBA/2J and C3H/HeJ strains, but there were no sex differences in the other strains. However, mice may not have used visuo-spatial cues to locate the escape hole in this maze, as (1) all strains primarily used the non-spatial serial/thigmotaxic search strategy, (2) no strains showed a reversal effect when the escape hole location was moved, and (3) learning and memory performance were not correlated with measures of visual ability. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance indicated that mice with good visual ability performed better than mice with poor visual ability, but the effect sizes were small. The small diameter of the maze and the presence of a wall around the edge of the maze may promote thigmotaxis in mice, increasing the use of a non-visual search strategy, thereby reducing the influence of vision on performance and decreasing the sensitivity of this maze design to detect strain differences in visuo-spatial learning and memory. These results indicate that the design of the Barnes maze has a significant effect on learning and memory processes.

Pubmed ID: 20801160 RIS Download

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Mouse Phenome Database (MPD) (tool)

RRID:SCR_003212

Database enables integration of genomic and phenomic data by providing access to primary experimental data, data collection protocols and analysis tools. Data represent behavioral, morphological and physiological disease-related characteristics in naive mice and those exposed to drugs, environmental agents or other treatments. Collaborative standardized collection of measured data on laboratory mouse strains to characterize them in order to facilitate translational discoveries and to assist in selection of strains for experimental studies. Includes baseline phenotype data sets as well as studies of drug, diet, disease and aging effect., protocols, projects and publications, and SNP, variation and gene expression studies. Provides tools for online analysis. Data sets are voluntarily contributed by researchers from variety of institutions and settings, or retrieved by MPD staff from open public sources. MPD has three major types of strain-centric data sets: phenotype strain surveys, SNP and variation data, and gene expression strain surveys. MPD collects data on classical inbred strains as well as any fixed-genotype strains and derivatives that are openly acquirable by the research community. New panels include Collaborative Cross (CC) lines and Diversity Outbred (DO) populations. Phenotype data include measurements of behavior, hematology, bone mineral density, cholesterol levels, endocrine function, aging processes, addiction, neurosensory functions, and other biomedically relevant areas. Genotype data are primarily in the form of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). MPD curates data into a common framework by standardizing mouse strain nomenclature, standardizing units (SI where feasible), evaluating data (completeness, statistical power, quality), categorizing phenotype data and linking to ontologies, conforming to internal style guides for titles, tags, and descriptions, and creating comprehensive protocol documentation including environmental parameters of the test animals. These elements are critical for experimental reproducibility.

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