The objectives of the Mouse Neurobehavior Core are three-fold. The first is to provide training in the use of mouse behavioral assays. The second goal is to provide access to the Mouse Neurobehavior core for MRDDRC investigators interested in determining if there are behavioral abnormalities in their mutant mice. MRDDRC investigators will have two options available to them for the behavioral analyses of their mutant mice. Investigators will be able to either test their own mice, or they will be able to utilize core services to perform the behavioral analyses for them. The third objective is to provide training in experimental design and statistical analyses that is customized for the mutant mouse behavioral analyses. The past decade has seen the definition of large families and super-families of neural genes whose related but different sequences provide great opportunity if we can understand their functions and exploit their diversity. There can be no doubt that a major challenge still facing modern neurobiology is the understanding of gene function. Institutions concerned with the critical issues of mental health and retardation are now looking beyond cloning and into the structure and function of the proteins encoded by these newly discovered sequences and the roles these proteins play in the development and behavior of the individual. While the ability of laboratories to use genetic and molecular techniques for generating mutant mouse models of mental retardation has become more routine, the ability to perform comprehensive analyses of the behavioral responses of these mutant mice is still expensive, requires numerous pieces of specialized equipment and specially designed laboratory space, and proper training in the use of the equipment, experimental design, and statistical analyses. It is the purpose of the Mouse Neurobehavior Core to provide access to a facility that is already equipped with the specialized equipment for behavioral studies, and the proper training to help ensure the successful analysis of the mutant mice generated by MRDDRC investigators.
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