title: Neurobehavioral evaluation of lurcher mutant mice during ontogeny.
abstract: Lurcher mutant mice were compared to normal littermate controls for body weight, body righting, negative geotropism, sensorimotor coordination (rotating grid, wire suspension, rotorod), and visuomotor coordination requiring swimming toward a pole during postnatal (P) days 0-30. Lurcher mutants had a lower body weight on P20-P30 and were slower before performing the complete body righting response on P13-P30. Because of postural instability during the negative geotropism test, lurcher mutants turned quicker up the slope than normal mice. The mutants fell sooner from the rotating grid on P11-P14, from the horizontal wire on P15-P16, and from the rotorod on P14-P30. Lurcher mutants were also slower before swimming to the pole or climbing to the top of the pole and were inferior in pole climbing height on P22-P30. These results indicate test-selective and time-selective neurobehavioral deficits during ontogeny in a spontaneous cerebellar mutant.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie et Physiologie du Comportement, URA CNRS 1293, Université Henri Poincaré Nancy 1, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France. thullier@scbiol.u-nancy.fr
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thullier
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lalonde
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cousin
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lestienne
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001835:Body Weight; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008818:Mice, Neurologic Mutants / Q000502:physiology*; D009043:Motor Activity; D011187:Posture; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012016:Reference Values; D012399:Rotation; D013550:Swimming