title: SEE locomotor behavior test discriminates C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mouse inbred strains across laboratories and protocol conditions.
abstract: Conventional tests of behavioral phenotyping frequently have difficulties differentiating certain genotypes and replicating these differences across laboratories and protocol conditions. This study explores the hypothesis that automated tests can be designed to quantify ethologically relevant behavior patterns that more readily characterize heritable and replicable phenotypes. It used SEE (Strategy for the Exploration of Exploration) to phenotype the locomotor behavior of the C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mouse inbred strains across 3 laboratories. The 2 genotypes differed in 15 different measures of behavior, none of which had a significant genotype-laboratory interaction. Within the same laboratory, most of these differences were replicated in additional experiments despite the test photoperiod phase being changed and saline being injected. Results suggest that well-designed tests may considerably enhance replicability across laboratories.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse/Intramural Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. nkafkafi@mprc.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Neri
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kafkafi
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lipkind
authors.forename: Yoav
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Benjamini
authors.forename: Cheryl L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Mayo
authors.forename: Gregory I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Elmer
authors.forename: Ilan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Golani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005838:Genotype; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL / Q000502:physiology*; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA / Q000502:physiology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013045:Species Specificity