† These authors contributed equally to this manuscriptThe rotorod is commonly used to assess motor ability in mice. We examined a number of inbred strains to determine whether there is genetic variability in rotorod performance and motor learning. Mice received three trials per day for three days in a modified accelerating rotorod paradigm, and active rotation performance was calculated for each day. Male and female 129S1/SvImJ, A/J, BALB/cByJ, C3H/HeJ, C57BL/6J, CBA/J, DBA/2J and FVB/NJ mice were tested. Strain and sex differences were observed in motor performance. Motor learning also differed across strains, as some strains showed an improvement in performance over the three days while other strains did not. In certain strains the weight and body length of the mouse correlated with rotorod performance. The role of vision in motor performance on the rotorod was assessed by a comparison of C3H/HeJ mice (with retinal degeneration) and congenic C3A.BLiA-Pde6b + (Pdeb+) mice (without retinal degeneration). The sight-impaired C3H mice stayed on the rotorod longer than did their sighted Pdeb+ partners, although both strains improved across days. Thus, we have demonstrated a genetic component in rotorod performance, and we have shown that factors other than inherent motor ability can contribute to rotorod performance in mice.

Most knockout (KO) mice are produced with embryonic stem cells derived from a 129 strain. Because most KO strains are backcrossed to B6 yet retain a portion of their genome from 129, especially around the ablated target locus, phenotypes previously attributed to the ablated locus may be due to passenger 129 genes. Thus, the authors decided to test several 129 substrains for their behavioral characteristics. Seven 129 substrains were put through a battery of tasks to determine their behavioral profiles. Differences were found in anxiety-related behaviors in the zero-maze, habituation to the open field, and cued fear conditioning. All strains successfully performed the rotorod task. The behavioral differences observed may have important implications for the interpretation of data and show divergence of behavioral performance in these 129 substrains.

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The increasing use of methylphenidate hydrochloride (MPH) in children led us to examine the effects of MPH administration in developing mice. Male CD-1 mice were administered MPH (40 mg/kg, subcutaneously) or saline daily from postnatal days 26-32. The mice were then tested from postnatal days 33-37 for locomotion and exploration in the open field, anxiety in the elevated plus maze, and learning in the Morris water maze. The results indicate that MPH-pretreated mice were more exploratory and less fearful in the open field, entering more center squares than saline controls. MPH-pretreated mice also exhibited less anxiety, spending more time in the open arm and exhibiting more head dips in the elevated plus maze than controls. There was no significant difference between MPH and saline-treated mice in the time taken to find the visible or hidden platform in the water maze task. The results indicate that treatment with MPH has significant effects on later behavior, reducing fear and anxiety, and increasing exploration, but no effect on performance in a spatial learning task.

Methylphenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin, MPH) is frequently prescribed as a treatment for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), yet little research has been conducted to determine its potential long-term neurobehavioral effects. We assessed the effects of subchronic MPH administration (2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40, or 80 mg/kg) on male CD-1 mice treated from 26 to 32 days of age. When tested at 33 days of age in the open field and elevated plus maze, there were no significant differences in spontaneous locomotion, exploration, or fear- and anxiety-related behaviors. Testing from 34 to 37 days of age in a water maze task revealed no significant effects of any dose of MPH on learning in this simple paradigm. While it is difficult to extrapolate directly from these results to clinical effects in humans, our results indicate that preexposure of mice to MPH late in the postnatal developmental period does not appear to alter later behavior. We are currently conducting additional studies to further probe the potential effects of MPH administration during development and to examine various contributing factors including stage of development, duration of MPH administration, complexity of the task used to assess behavioral changes, and type of cognitive process being analyzed (attention, nonspatial working memory, etc.).

The present study examined the effects of chronic and acute treatment with methylphenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin) on isolation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations, spontaneous locomotor activity, and neuromotor coordination in 3- to 11-day-old CD-1 mouse pups. In Experiment 1, 3- to 11-day-old pups received daily injections of saline, 5 mg/kg or 20 mg/kg of methylphenidate hydrochloride, or no injection and were tested on postnatal Days 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Both doses of methylphenidate resulted in significant increases in locomotor activity at all ages, but had no significant effect on body weight, neuromotor development, or emission of ultrasonic vocalizations. In Experiment 2, pups were given a single dose of methylphenidate (5 or 20 mg/kg), saline, or no injection on one of postnatal Days 5, 7, 9, or 11. This acute methylphenidate treatment increased locomotor activity, but had no significant effects on ultrasonic vocalizations or neuromotor coordination. These results indicate that short-term, chronic methylphenidate treatment elevates locomotor responses, but has no immediate effects on anxietylike responses or on the development of neuromotor behavior of CD-1 mice in the first 11 days of life.

Long-term ethanol self-administration with repeated ethanol deprivation episodes changes ethanol drinking pattern and increases anxiety-related behaviour during ethanol deprivation in rats.

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