What is it about?
Many species, including humans, show similar timekeeping abilities with humans. Timekeeping is affected in disorders such as ADHD, Depression, Schizophrenia, and Parkinson. We evaluated the timekeeping abilities of three strains of mice frequently used in genetic and behavioral studies: 129, Swiss-Webster, and C57BL/6.
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Why is it important?
The study validates the peak-interval procedure with multiple intervals as a proper behavioral technique, and the C57BL/6 mice as the most suitable genetic background to date for behavioral investigations of timekeeping in genetically engineered mice modeling human disorders. Studies in other strains of mice may be affected by their poor time keeping abilities, which may render results unreliable.
Perspectives
Many timekeeping studies in genetically-engineered mice have been carried out with little or no attention to whether the strain of mice used correctly models the accurate and scalar timing in humans. As such, this literature is unreliable overall. This paper spells for the first time the conditions under which time keeping studies with genetically engineered mice should be carried on to provide reliable results: (a) using wild-type controls, that are (b) litter mates of the experimental animals, from (c) a controlled genetic background that shows accurate and scalar timekeeping. This paper shows that C57BL/6 is the most suitable genetic background to-date for such investigations.
Catalin Buhusi
Utah State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Not All Mice Are Created Equal: Interval Timing Accuracy and Scalar Timing in 129, Swiss-Webster, and C57BL/6 Mice, Timing & Time Perception, July 2022, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/22134468-bja10052.
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