[Behavioral characterization of mouse strains in learning and memory tests]

Here we review the behavioral characterization of several strains of mice that have generally been used in learning and memory tests. We made behavioral comparisons among inbred (C57BL/6, DBA/1 and 129Sv) and closed colony (ddY and ICR (CD-1)) mice. In the water-maze test, the spatial learning ability of C57BL/6 and ICR was higher than that of the other strains of mice. In the Y-maze, water-finding and step-through type passive avoidance tests, there were some differences among those strains but they were not significant. We have to pay attention to the mouse strain to analyze the behavioral changes when we use different strains of mice.