Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 20 Penn St. HSF2/S251, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Behav Brain Res. 2019 Dec 16;375:112140. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112140. Epub 2019 Aug 8.
Behavioral studies in animal models have advanced our knowledge of brain function and the neural mechanisms of human diseases. Commonly used laboratory rodents, such as mice and rats, provide a useful tool for studying the behaviors and mechanisms associated with learning and memory processes which are cooperatively regulated by multiple underlying factors, including sensory and motor performance and emotional/defense innate components. Each of these factors shows unique ontogeny and governs the sustainment of behavioral performance in learning tasks, and thus, understanding the integrative processes of behavioral development are crucial in the accurate interpretation of the functional meaning of learning and memory behaviors expressed in commonly employed behavioral test paradigms. In this review, we will summarize the major findings in the developmental processes of rodent behavior on the basis of the emergence of fundamental components for sustaining learning and memory behaviors. Briefly, most sensory modalities (except for vision) and motor abilities are functional at the juvenile stage, in which several defensive components, including active and passive defensive strategies and risk assessment behavior, emerge. Sex differences are detectable from the juvenile stage through adulthood and are considerable factors that influence behavioral tests. The test paradigms addressed in this review include associative learning (with an emphasis on fear conditioning), spatial learning, and recognition. This basic background information will aid in accurately performing behavioral studies in laboratory rodents and will therefore contribute to reducing inappropriate interpretations of behavioral data and further advance research on learning and memory in rodent models.
行为学研究在动物模型中推进了我们对大脑功能和人类疾病的神经机制的认识。常用的实验室啮齿动物，如小鼠和大鼠，为研究与学习和记忆过程相关的行为和机制提供了有用的工具，这些过程受多种潜在因素的共同调节，包括感觉和运动表现以及情感/防御内在成分。这些因素中的每一个都表现出独特的个体发生，并控制着学习任务中行为表现的维持，因此，理解行为发育的整合过程对于准确解释在常用行为测试范式中表现出的学习和记忆行为的功能意义至关重要。在这篇综述中，我们将根据维持学习和记忆行为的基本组成部分的出现，总结啮齿动物行为发育过程中的主要发现。简而言之，大多数感觉模态（除视觉外）和运动能力在幼年阶段就具有功能性，在此期间，出现了几种防御成分，包括主动和被动防御策略以及风险评估行为。从幼年到成年阶段都可以检测到性别差异，并且是影响行为测试的重要因素。本文综述中讨论的测试范式包括联想学习（重点是恐惧条件反射）、空间学习和识别。这些基本背景信息将有助于在实验室啮齿动物中准确进行行为学研究，从而有助于减少对行为数据的不当解释，并进一步推动啮齿动物模型中学习和记忆的研究。
