Olfactory Discrimination Learning in an Outbred and an Inbred Strain of Mice

Matthias Laska

The present study compared olfactory discrimination learning in CD-1 mice, a widely used outbred strain of mice with that of C57BL/6J mice, one of the most widely used inbred mouse strains. Using an automated olfactometer and a standard operant conditioning procedure, I found that CD-1 mice needed 60 trials to reach learning criterion in an initial 2-odor discrimination task. They improved in learning speed in subsequent discrimination tasks in which either the rewarded or the unrewarded stimulus was replaced for a new stimulus. C57BL/6J mice, in contrast, needed 120 trials to reach learning criterion in an initial 2-odor discrimination task and also needed significantly more trials than the CD-1 mice in 3 of the 4 subsequent discrimination tasks. Further, the results showed that discrimination learning performance of both mouse strains was largely unaffected by the odor stimuli used. The results of the present study demonstrate differences between an outbred and an inbred strain of mice with regard to odor discrimination learning, a classical measure of cognitive performance in comparative psychology. Thus, they emphasize the need to be careful with generalizing statements as to cognitive or sensory abilities of Mus musculus when inbred strains of mice are used.