SENSORIMOTOR LEARNING IN 3 CEREBELLAR MUTANT MICE

Cerebellar damage occurs during developmental stages in three mutant m ice (staggerer, hot-foot, and lurcher), causing disturbances in postur e and equilibrium. During three tests of motor coordination, the perfo rmance of staggerer mutants was inferior to that of normal mice and di d not improve with extended practice for up to 7 days of training. The sensorimotor performance of hot-foot mutants and of lurcher mutants w as also lower than that of normal mice. Nevertheless, hot-foot mutants showed evidence of learning in two of the three tests and lurcher mut ants in all three tests. Cerebellar atrophy in the latter two mutants did not prevent sensorimotor learning, but instead impaired their abil ity to reach the same level of performance as that of normal mice. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.