Chapter 4.4 Methodological considerations for testing learning in mice

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-0709(99)80050-9Get rights and content

Publisher Summary

This chapter discusses the methodological considerations for testing learning in mice. It defines learning as the process by which subjects collect and treat information enabling them to adjust their behavior in certain situations. The chapter illustrates that learning and memory cannot be measured directly and, consequently the phenotypical trait often depends largely on the testing method used. The chapter explores that testing learning behavior in mice, it is important to adhere to all those points that are important for testing behavior of any kind. One can measure the presence or absence of motor responses, from which can draw conclusions about the underlying cognitive processes. Many factors, such as arousal, sensitization, fatigue, and illness may influence performance and distinguishing changes resulting from the acquisition of information from those due to other influences is not always simple. The chapter also discusses some of the learning tasks that are currently used most often for mice. It should be noted that strain differences have been reported for all these tasks.

References (53)

  • LindnerM.D. et al.

    Blind rats are not profoundly impaired in the reference memory Morris water maze and cannot be clearly discriminated from rats with cognitive deficits in the cued platform task

    Cogn. Brain Res

    (1997)
  • LippH.-P. et al.

    A computer-controlled Y-maze for the analysis of vibrissotactile discrimination learning in mice

    Behav. Brain Res.

    (1991)
  • MasudaY. et al.

    Radial arm maze behavior in mice when a return to the home cage serves as the reinforcer

    Physiol. Behav.

    (1994)
  • McGaughJ.L.

    Dissociating learning and performance: drug and hormone enhancement of memory storage

    Brain Res. Bull.

    (1989)
  • MeansL.W. et al.

    The effects of number of trials per day, retention interval, gender and time of day on acquisition of a two-choice, win-stay water-escape working memory task in

    J. Neurosci. Methods

    (1991)
  • MrosovskyN. et al.

    Spatial responses to light in mice with severe retinal degeneration

    Neurosci. Lett.

    (1997)
  • SchenkF.

    A homing procedure for studying spatial memory in immature and adult rodents

    J. Neurosci. Methods

    (1989)
  • SchweglerH. et al.

    Hippocampal mossy fibers and radial-maze learning in the mouse: a correlation with spatial working memory but not with non-spatial reference memory

    Neurosci.

    (1990)
  • Van AbeelenJ.H.F. et al.

    Memory storage in three inbred mouse strains after injection of cycloheximide

    Physiol. Behav.

    (1973)
  • Van der StaayF.J. et al.

    The cone field: a spatial discrimination task for the automatic and simultaneous assessment of working and reference memory in rats

    J. Neurosci. Methods

    (1990)
  • WhishawI.Q.

    A comparison of rats and mice in a swimming pool place task and matching to place task: some surprising differences

    Physiol. Behav.

    (1995)
  • WhishawI.Q. et al.

    Of mice and mazes: similarities between mice and rats on dry land but not water mazes

    Physiol. Behav.

    (1996)
  • WhiteN.M.

    Reward or reinforcement: what's the difference?

    Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev.

    (1989)
  • WolferD.P. et al.

    A new computer program for detailed off-line analysis of swimming navigation in the Morris water maze

    J. Neurosci. Methods

    (1992)
  • Ammassari-TeuleM. et al.

    Learning in inbred mice: strain-specific abilities across three radial maze problems

    Behav. Genet.

    (1993)
  • CaldaroneB. et al.

    Quantitative trait loci analysis affecting contextual conditioning in mice

    Nature Genet.

    (1997)
  • Cited by (0)

    View full text