title: Genetic evidence for chromosome 4 loci influencing learning and memory.
abstract: The Lewis (LEW) and SHR (Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats) inbred rat strains differ in several anxiety/emotionality and learning/memory-related behaviors. We aimed to search quantitative trait locus (QTL) that influence these behaviors and confirm their effects in a congenic rat strain SLA16 (SHR.LEW.Anxrr16). LEW females and SHR males were intercrossed to produce F2 rats (96/sex), which were all tested in the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task (PMDAT), open-field (OF), object recognition (OR), spontaneous alternation (SA) and fear conditioning (FC). All animals were genotyped for microsatellite markers located on chromosome (Chr) 4. Behavioral and genotypic data were used to perform factor and QTL analyses. Also, to confirm the QTL effects, we tested male and female SLA16 rats and their isogenic control SHR in the same behavioral tests. A factor analysis of the F2 population revealed a correlation between anxiety/emotionality related behaviors and learning/memory in both sexes. QTL analysis revealed two significant QTL in males and three in females, on behavioral parameters in the PMDAT, OF and FC. Four QTL found herein were confirmed in SLA16 rats. The SLA16 strain displayed lower levels of anxiety/emotionality, higher locomotor activity and deficits in learning/memory in comparison with SHR strain. The Chr 4 contains genes influencing anxiety/emotionality and learning/memory behaviors and the SLA16 strain represents a valuable tool in the search for them. The use of the SLA16 strain as a genetic model for studying behavioral phenomena and their implications for psychiatric disorders are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genética do Comportamento, Departamento de Biologia Celular, Embriologia e Genética, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mayara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anselmi
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genética do Comportamento, Departamento de Biologia Celular, Embriologia e Genética, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda Junkes
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Estudo da Memória em Roedores, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil; Laboratório de Neurociências, Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Itabaiana, SE, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Ronaldo
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Estudo da Memória em Roedores, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anatildes Feitosa
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Estudo da Memória em Roedores, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Antônio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Estudo da Memória em Roedores, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil; Laboratório de Neurociência Comportamental, Departamento de Farmacologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anderson Henrique Figueiredo
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Leão
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Estudo da Memória em Roedores, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Clarissa Loureiro Chagas
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Campêlo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Estudo da Memória em Roedores, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil; Laboratório de Neurociências e Bioprospecção de Produtos Naturais, Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alessandra Mussi
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Estudo da Memória em Roedores, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil; Laboratório de Neurociência Comportamental, Departamento de Farmacologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Regina Helena
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Genética do Comportamento, Departamento de Biologia Celular, Embriologia e Genética, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil; Laboratório de Estudo da Memória em Roedores, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil. Electronic address: geisonizidio@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Geison Souza
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Izídio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020296:Animals, Congenic; D001007:Anxiety / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D033481:Chromosomes, Mammalian / Q000235:genetics*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR
keywords: ADHD; Anxiety; Congenic strain; Fear conditioning; QTL; SHR rats