Open AccessStrain differences in activity and emotionality do not account for differences in learning and memory performance between C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice
Author(s) -
Podhorna J.,
Brown R. E.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
genes, brain and behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.315
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1601-183X
pISSN - 1601-1848
DOI - 10.1034/j.1601-183x.2002.10205.x
Subject(s) - open field , emotionality , psychology , habituation , elevated plus maze , anxiety , developmental psychology , task (project management) , recognition memory , analysis of variance , cognition , cognitive psychology , audiology , neuroscience , medicine , management , psychiatry , economics
This study examined emotionality, activity, learning and memory, as well as the influence of emotionality and activity on learning and memory performance in C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice using a mouse‐test battery. DBA/2 mice performed more poorly than C57BL/6 mice in complex learning tasks such as the water maze and object recognition tasks. In contrast, C57BL/6 mice showed attenuated habituation to novelty in the open field apparatus and poorer performance in the step‐down passive avoidance task. The C57BL/6 mice were less exploratory and more anxious than the DBA/2 mice. The anxiety score (open arm entries in the elevated plus maze) was significantly correlated with all measures of learning and memory in the object recognition task, and some measures in the passive avoidance and water maze tasks. Analysis of covariance (with open arm entries as a covariate) revealed that some measures on trial 1 of the object recognition task, but not the memory scores on trial 2, were confounded by anxiety. No confounding factors of anxiety were found in the water maze or passive avoidance tasks. Similar results were obtained with the activity scores (line crossing and rearing in the open field). In conclusion, strain differences in activity and anxiety did not account for strain differences in learning and memory performance of C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice. Nonetheless, the importance of using complete behavioural test batteries should be stressed to ensure that strain differences in learning and memory tasks are not confounded by non‐cognitive factors.