| First Author | Derenne A | Year | 2007 |
| Journal | Physiol Behav | Volume | 92 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 1002-9 |
| PubMed ID | 17826805 | Mgi Jnum | J:139418 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3808050 | Doi | 10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.07.015 |
| Citation | Derenne A, et al. (2007) Weaver mutant mice exhibit long-term learning deficits under several measures of instrumental behavior. Physiol Behav 92(5):1002-9 |
| abstractText | Homozygous weaver mutant mice (wv/wv) exhibit symptoms that parallel Parkinson's disease, including motor deficits and the destruction of dopaminergic neurons as well as degeneration in the cerebellum and hippocampus. To develop a more complete behavioral profile of these organisms, groups of wv/wv, wv/+ mice and C57BL/6 mice were observed on a within-subjects basis under a fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement, a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate-of-responding schedule, and a discrimination task in which a saccharin solution and tap water were concurrently available from two food cups. Under both reinforcement schedules, the wv/wv mice responded as frequently as the comparison subjects, but they responded in a manner that was inappropriate to the contingencies. Rather than respond with increasing frequency as the upcoming reinforcer became temporally proximate, wv/wv mice responded with decreasing probability as a function of the time since the previous reinforcer. Under the discrimination task, the wv/wv mice, unlike the controls, obtained saccharin over tap water at the level of chance. The findings suggest that weaver mutant mice express learning deficits similar to those found in other dopamine-deficient organisms. |
