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Genetic analysis of anxiety-related behaviors and responses to benzodiazepine-related drugs in AXB and BXA recombinant inbred mouse strains

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Abstract

Recombinant inbred (RI) strains derived from the C57BL/6J and A/J mouse strains were used for behavioral studies designed to estimate the number and location of chromosomal loci responsible for anxiety-related behaviors and differential sensitivity to agonists and inverse agonists of the γ-aminobutyric acidA (GABAA)/benzodiazepine receptor complex. The phenotypes of the parental inbred strains and of 28 RI strains were characterized for the number of transitions in the light ⇆ dark exploratory model, anxiolytic response to diazepam, vertical and ambulatory activities in an open field, and sensitivity to the convulsant properties of methyl-β-carboline-3-carboxylate (β-CCM). The strain distribution patterns and estimates of the minimal number of loci obtained for each trait suggest that multiple chromosomal loci contribute to differences in anxiety-related behavioral phenotypes and the behavioral responses to diazepam and β-CCM between C57BL/6J and A/J mice. The best probabilities of linkage were found between the variables characterizing response to diazepam and loci on chromosomes 1 (Xmv-41) and 10 (D10Mit2) and between the sensitivity to the convulsant actions of β-CCM and locusD15Mit5 on chromosome 15.

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Author notes

  1. Steven M. Paul

    Present address: Lilly Research Laboratories, Lilly Corporate Center, Eli Lilly and Co., 46285, Indianapolis, Indiana

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section on Behavioral Neuropharmacology, Experimental Therapeuties Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 20892, Bethesda, Maryland

    Chantal Mathis & Jacqueline N. Crawley

  2. Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Division of Molecular Pathology & Molecular Genetics, Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University, B3H 4H7, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Paul E. Neumann

  3. Section on Molecular Pharmacology, Clinical Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 20892, Bethesda, Maryland

    Howard Gershenfeld & Steven M. Paul

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  1. Chantal Mathis
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  5. Jacqueline N. Crawley
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Mathis, C., Neumann, P.E., Gershenfeld, H. et al. Genetic analysis of anxiety-related behaviors and responses to benzodiazepine-related drugs in AXB and BXA recombinant inbred mouse strains. Behav Genet 25, 557–568 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02327579

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02327579

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