POST-WEANING SOCIAL-FACTORS PROMOTE MOTOR AND SOCIAL BEHAVIORS IN STAGGERER MICE

Male staggerer mutant mice generally do not mate. This lack of spontan eous sexual behavior may be partially due to motor disturbances associ ated with cerebellar abnormalities. Social experience and probable sen sory motor stimulation produced by the post-weaning cohabitation with several non-mutant mice improve the adult interactive behaviors of sta ggerer males when encountering sexually receptive non-mutant females. Tested for their motor capacities, these experienced males perform bet ter when compared to control males who cohabited with only one non-mut ant after weaning. These results correspond to the first demonstration of post-weaning social experience effects both on motor control and o n social interactions in the same individuals of homozygous staggerer mice. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.