Abstract
The laboratory environment existing outside the test situation itself can have a substantial influence on results of some behavioral tests with mice, and the extent of these influences sometimes depends on genotype. For alcohol research, the principal issue is whether genotype-related ethanol effects will themselves be altered by common variations in the lab environment or instead will be essentially the same across a wide range of lab environments. Data from 20 inbred strains were used to reduce an original battery of seven tests of alcohol intoxication to a compact battery of four tests: the balance beam and grip strength with a 1.25. g/kg ethanol dose and the accelerating rotarod and open-field activation tests with 1.75. g/kg. The abbreviated battery was then used to study eight inbred strains housed under a normal or reversed light-dark cycle, or a standard or enriched home cage environment. The light-dark cycle had no discernable effects on any measure of behavior or response to alcohol. Cage enrichment markedly improved motor coordination in most strains. Ethanol-induced motor coordination deficits were robust; the well-documented strain-dependent effects of ethanol were not altered by cage enrichment.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 259-271 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Behavioural Brain Research |
Volume | 224 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 31 2011 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Alcohol intoxication
- Cage enrichment
- Inbred strains
- Laboratory environment
- Light-dark cycle
- Motor behavior
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Behavioral Neuroscience