The behavioral sequela following the prevention of home-cage grid-climbing activity in C57BL/6 mice.
Behavioral Neuroscience. 2007-01-01; 121(2): 345-355
DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.121.2.345
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Pietropaolo S(1), Mintz M, Feldon J, Yee BK.
Author information:
(1)Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Several studies have demonstrated that the early postweaning phase (3-7 weeks of
age) is a crucial ontogenic period for rodent neurobehavioral development.
During this phase, both brain and behavior are highly sensitive to environmental
variations (i.e., changes in the standard housing conditions). In the present
study, male and female C57BL/6 mice were housed at weaning in cages provided
with a Plexiglas lid, and thus, they were deprived of the opportunity to perform
climbing activity on the cage grid–a major component of mouse behavior in
standard laboratory environments. At early adulthood (7-10 weeks old), mice
underwent an extensive battery of behavioral tests. The present study
demonstrates for the first time the psychological, sex-specific relevance of
home-cage grid-climbing activity in mice, showing that its prevention alters
fear-conditioned responses in mice of both sexes and induces psychotic-like and
anxious behaviors in females only. The data further highlight the importance of
the early postweaning phase for the study of environmentally induced
neurobehavioral plasticity and the design of animal models of psychiatric
disorders on the basis of environmental manipulation in early postweaning life.
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