The effects of total and partial callosal agenesis on the rotatory behavior of BALB/cCF mice.
We report a study on rotational behavior (free swim test) of 30 adult male mice of an inbred strain in which about 20% of the animals are born with callosal defects (the BALB/cCF strain). The experiment was designed to study the relationship between the development of the corpus callosum and the degree of lateralization in rotatory behavior. Most of the BALB/cCF mice (77%) were lateralized rotators. Although most animals with a normal callosal area presented individual asymmetry, there was no significant tendency for a populational asymmetry toward one side in this group. In contrast, 75% of the animals with abnormally small callosal areas were left rotators. These animals, therefore, presented not only individual asymmetry, but also a tendency for a populational asymmetry. It was concluded that disturbances in the development of the corpus callosum are related to the appearance of directional populational asymmetry in rotatory behavior.
Schmidt
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SL
Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
Lent
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R
D061085:Agenesis of Corpus Callosum; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D007839:Functional Laterality; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D012399:Rotation