Exploration in outbred mice covaries with general learning abilities irrespective of stress reactivity, emotionality, and physical attributes
Exploration in outbred mice covaries with general learning abilities irrespective of stress reactivity, emotionality, and physical attributes
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DOI：
10.1016/j.nlm.2006.03.004
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发表时间：
2006-09-01
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Kolata, Stefan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Matzel, Louis D.;Townsend, David A.;Kolata, Stefan
在多种学习任务（对动物提出不同的感觉、运动和信息处理要求）中，我们发现小鼠的表现通常由单一因素（“一般学习”）调节，该因素占个体和任务差异的 30-40%。此外，个人的一般学习能力与他们在开放领域进行探索的倾向高度相关，这种行为可能会产生压力。开放领域的探索与一般学习能力之间的这种关系表明，压力敏感性/反应性或相关情绪反应的变化可能会直接影响个人的一般学习能力。在这里，评估了感觉/运动技能和压力敏感性/情绪与动物一般学习能力的关系。 Outhred (CD-1) 小鼠接受了一系列六项学习任务以及 21 项探索行为、感觉/运动功能和健康、情绪和压力反应性测试。个体小鼠的表现在六项学习任务中是相关的，所有学习任务的表现测量都很大程度上依赖于单一因素（主成分分析），占动物和任务之间变异性的 32%。旷野探索和七种额外的探索行为（包括在高架十字迷宫中表现出的行为）也对同一因素产生了很大的影响，尽管一般活动、感觉/运动反应、身体特征和恐惧的直接测量却没有。在一项单独的实验中，小鼠的血清皮质酮水平因轻微的环境压力（被限制在高架平台上）而升高。压力引起的皮质酮水平与行为恐惧反应相关，但与个体的探索倾向不系统地相关。总的来说，这些结果表明，虽然一般学习能力与个体的探索倾向密切相关，但这种关系不能归因于感觉/运动功能的变化或个体对促进压力或恐惧的条件的生理或行为敏感性。 (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. 保留所有权利。
Across multiple learning tasks (that place different sensory, motor, and information processing demands on the animals), we have found that the performance of mice is commonly regulated by a single factor ("general learning") that accounts for 30-40% of the variance across individuals and tasks. Furthermore, individuals' general learning abilities were highly correlated with their propensity to engage in exploration in an open field, a behavior that is potentially stress-inducing. This relationship between exploration in the open field and general learning abilities suggests the possibility that variations in stress sensitivity/responsivity or related emotional responses might directly influence individuals' general learning abilities. Here, the relationship of sensory/motor skills and stress sensitivity/emotionality to animals' general learning abilities were assessed. Outhred (CD-1) mice were tested in a battery of six learning tasks as well as 21 tests of exploratory behavior, sensory/motor function and fitness, emotionality, and stress reactivity. The performances of individual mice were correlated across six learning tasks, and the performance measures of all learning tasks loaded heavily on a single factor (principal component analysis), accounting for 32% of the variability between animals and tasks. Open field exploration and seven additional exploratory behaviors (including those exhibited in an elevated plus maze) also loaded heavily on this same factor, although general activity, sensory/motor responses, physical characteristics, and direct measures of fear did not. In a separate experiment, serum corticosterone levels of mice were elevated in response to a mild environmental stressor (confinement on an elevated platform). Stress-induced corticosterone levels were correlated with behavioral fear responses, but were unsystematically related to individuals' propensity for exploration. In total, these results suggest that although general learning abilities are strongly related to individuals' propensity for exploration, this relationship is not attributable to variations in sensory/motor function or the individuals' physiological or behavioral sensitivity to conditions that promote stress or fear. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.