Biological Background of Kh. DIC Mice and Their Learning and Memory Defects

The learning ability of the Kh. DIC mice, a mutant of the Kunming mice, was studied to analyze its memory development. The mice‘s brain function was evaluated using a water maze with the amount of monoamines measured by fluorospectrophotometry and enzyme activities detected by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The mice were found to have spacial learning and memory defects at the age of 1 month in both ordinary animals and in special pathogen free (SPF) animals. At the same time, the amount of monoamines and the activities of monoamine oxidase-B and dopamine-~-hydroxylase differed from those of the Kunming mice. The defects might be related to the differences in the monoamine neurotransmitter system. The results suggest that the DIC mice may be useful economic animal models for the study of brain defects.