Effects of the albino and dilute loci on mouse behavior.

Abstract

SINGLE-GENE ALBINO MUTANTS AND SINGLE-GENE REVERSIONS TO FULL COAT COLOR ON C57BL/6J AND DBA/2J BACKGROUND, RESPECTIVELY, WERE COMPARED TO NONMUTANT MICE OF THESE STRAINS FOR RATE OF CONDITIONED AVOIDANCE LEARNING AND EXTINCTION, ALCOHOL PREFERENCE, SUSCEPTIBILITY TO AUDIOGENIC SEIZURES, LOCOMOTOR ACTIVITY, AND WALL-HUGGING BEHAVIOR. ALBINO C57BL/6J MICE LEARNED THE AVOIDANCE CR MORE SLOWLY, DRANK LESS ALCOHOL, AND WERE LESS ACTIVE THAN PIGMENTED C57BL/6J MICE. NONDILUTE DBA/2J MICE WERE MORE ACTIVE THAN DILUTE DBA/2J MICE. COMPARISON OF ALL C57BL/6J AND DBA/2J MICE REVEALED THAT MICE OF THE FORMER GENOTYPE WERE LESS RESISTANT TO EXTINCTION, DRANK MORE ALCOHOL, WERE MORE ACTIVE, AND SHOWED MORE WALL-HUGGING BEHAVIOR THAN DBA/2J MICE. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)