The use of behavioral test batteries: Effects of training history

Our laboratory uses a specific test battery for the initial assessment of p henotypic behavioral differences of transgenic, knockout, and inbred strain s of mice. Our standard battery includes: open field activity, light-dark e xploration, rotarod, prepulse inhibition (PPI), acoustic startle habituatio n, conditioned fear, Morris water maze, and hot plate. Tests are run in the order listed, from least invasive to most invasive, to decrease the chance that behavioral responses are altered by prior test history. The studies p resented here were designed around two questions. The first study asks if d ifferences exist between mice that have undergone testing on different task s and mice that are naive to the test experience. The second study asks if the test order affects how an animal performs on subsequent tests. In the f irst experiment, C57BL/6J male mice were evaluated on all of the tests desc ribed above. The behavior of these 'test battery' mice was compared to aged matched naive mice that were only tested on one test from the battery. Res ults indicate that on some tests, the behavior of 'test battery' mice was s ignificantly different from the behavior of naive mice, while on other test s there were no differences. For example, test battery mice responded diffe rently in the open-field, rotarod, and hot-plate test, but behaved similar on the PPI and conditioned fear. Experiments in the second study were perfo rmed on male 129/SvEvTac (129S6) and C57BL/6J male mice. An abbreviated bat tery of tasks was used and the results suggest that certain test variables are sensitive to test order, whereas others are resistant. These two studie s demonstrate that some behavioral tests appear to be sensitive to previous testing experience, while other tests are immune. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scienc e Inc. All rights reserved.