title: Alterations in grooming activity and syntax in heterozygous SERT and BDNF knockout mice: the utility of behavior-recognition tools to characterize mutant mouse phenotypes.
abstract: Serotonin transporter (SERT) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are key modulators of molecular signaling, cognition and behavior. Although SERT and BDNF mutant mouse phenotypes have been extensively characterized, little is known about their self-grooming behavior. Grooming represents an important behavioral domain sensitive to environmental stimuli and is increasingly used as a model for repetitive behavioral syndromes, such as autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The present study used heterozygous ((+/-)) SERT and BDNF male mutant mice on a C57BL/6J background and assessed their spontaneous self-grooming behavior applying both manual and automated techniques. Overall, SERT(+/-) mice displayed a general increase in grooming behavior, as indicated by more grooming bouts and more transitions between specific grooming stages. SERT(+/-) mice also aborted more grooming bouts, but showed generally unaltered activity levels in the observation chamber. In contrast, BDNF(+/-) mice displayed a global reduction in grooming activity, with fewer bouts and transitions between specific grooming stages, altered grooming syntax, as well as hypolocomotion and increased turning behavior. Finally, grooming data collected by manual and automated methods (HomeCageScan) significantly correlated in our experiments, confirming the utility of automated high-throughput quantification of grooming behaviors in various genetic mouse models with increased or decreased grooming phenotypes. Taken together, these findings indicate that mouse self-grooming behavior is a reliable behavioral biomarker of genetic deficits in SERT and BDNF pathways, and can be reliably measured using automated behavior-recognition technology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Program, Tulane University Medical School, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Evan J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kyzar
authors.forename: Mimi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cachat
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Siddharth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaikwad
authors.forename: Allan V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Kalueff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057205:Automation, Laboratory / Q000379:methods; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics; D006120:Grooming / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D010641:Phenotype; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; C493231:Slc6a4 protein, mouse