Behaviour-associated alopecia areata in mice

Militzer, Klaus; E, Wecker

doi:10.1258/002367786781062061

Cited by 23 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(9 reference statements)

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“…Whisker trimming or hair nibbling is a behavioral trait observed in several laboratory mouse strains. (van den Broek et al 1993;Hauschka 1952;Long 1972;Militzer & Wecker 1986;Sarna et al 2000). Trimmed mice have shortened or missing vibrissae and/or have hair missing from the snout or the back of the neck.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expanded characterization of the social interaction abnormalities in mice lacking Dvl1

Long

LaPorte

Paylor

et al. 2004

Genes Brain and Behavior

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Dvl1 is one of three murine Dishevelled genes widely expressed in embryonic development and in the adult central nervous system. Dishevelled proteins are a necessary component of the Wnt and planar cell polarity developmental signaling pathways. We reported previously that mice deficient in Dvl1 exhibited abnormal social interaction and sensorimotor gating. To assess the validity of our earlier findings, we replicated the previous behavioral tests and included several new assays. The behaviors assessed included: social interaction, sensorimotor reflexes, motor activity, nociception, prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle (PPI) and learning and memory. Assessments with an explicit social component included: social dominance test, whisker trimming, nest building, homecage huddling and ultrasonic vocalization rate analysis in pups. In addition, separate cohorts of wildtype and Dvl1-null mice were assessed for social recognition of a conspecific. Replicating the original report, Dvl1-null mice were impaired in several tasks containing an explicit social component. However, no impairment was observed in the social memory task. A previously observed deficit in PPI did not replicate in two institutions. In conclusion, we provide evidence that the social interaction phenotype of Dvl1-deficient mice has a strong genetic influence, but the sensorimotor gating deficit was subject to environmental influences. The specificity of observed social interaction deficits also suggests that lack of Dvl1 is associated with deficits in the recognition of social hierarchy and dominance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expanded characterization of the social interaction abnormalities in mice lacking Dvl1

Long

LaPorte

Paylor

et al. 2004

Genes Brain and Behavior

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“…This is a common behaviour problem in laboratory mice, particularly in the C57BL/6J strain, and it has been suggested to be an obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD) (Garner et al 2004a,b). Although there is no empirical evidence that barbering is related to excessive allogrooming, this has been suggested since barbered body areas are those typically groomed (Militzer & Wecker 1986). Unfortunately, we were not able to evaluate whether or not the difference in allogrooming correspond to a difference in barbering, since the animals in this study were euthanized at nine weeks, that is approximately at the age when barbering starts to develop (Garner et al 2004b).…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 94%

The effect of preweaning and postweaning housing on the behaviour of the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus)

Marques

Olsson

2007

Lab Anim

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SummaryStandard housing for laboratory mice severely restricts natural behaviour and the control that the animal has over its environment. Providing the cage with objects is a method that has been used to both increase environmental complexity, promote the performance of natural behaviour and provide greater controllability for the animal. This method of furnishing cages has mostly been studied in adult animals, and little is known about the influence that the preweaning environment has on the behaviour of mice as adults. This study aimed to investigate the effects on mice behaviour of preweaning and postweaning housing environment.In this experiment, 64 pairs of animals of the strain C57BL/6J were used. Half of the animals were born and reared until weaning in standard cages and the other half in cages twice the size of the standard and furnished with nesting material, a cardboard tube, a PVC nest box and a wooden chewblock. After weaning, half the animals in each group were changed to the other type of cage, whereas the other half remained in the same environment; in both cases they were kept in single-sex pairs of littermates. Behaviour during the dark, active period was studied through video recordings.We found no main effects of preweaning environment on behaviour; however, mice moved from furnished to standard cages at weaning showed a decrease in inactive behaviour at four weeks of age. Mice housed after weaning in standard cages spent less time inactive, and more time engaging in activities like feeding and drinking, self-grooming and allogrooming. A sex difference was also found, in that females showed a greater performance of exploratory behaviour as well as a greater prevalence of stereotypies. The use of different objects and locations within the furnished cage was also analysed at both ages. Results show that at eight weeks of age mice spent more time at the top of the cage, and that the use of the nest box (although not for resting) increased between four and eight weeks. Mice were found to use the nest box as a nesting site/sleeping place only at age four weeks, whereas they always used the nesting material for sleeping.Keywords Behaviour; environmental enrichment; housing; mice; refinement; animal welfare Currently, laboratory mouse housing is designed to keep the animals physically healthy and is further dictated by the physical and economical constraints of the animal facility, with little consideration for the animal's biology and behavioural needs. Laboratory mouse cages lack complexity and

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“…There are sex and strain differences in the occurrence of this phenomenon which is often associated with multiple housed animals (Faccini et al 1990, Militzer & Wecker 1986. Whisker trimming and barbering can also occur as a manifestation of social dominance in some strains of mice (Strozik & Festing 1981).…”

Section: Skin and Appendagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mouse

Taylor¹

2012

Background Lesions in Laboratory Animals

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Behaviour-associated alopecia areata in mice

Cited by 23 publications

References 8 publications

Expanded characterization of the social interaction abnormalities in mice lacking Dvl1

Expanded characterization of the social interaction abnormalities in mice lacking Dvl1

The effect of preweaning and postweaning housing on the behaviour of the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus)

Mouse

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