Analysis Tools
behavior/neurological
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• the latency of mice to enter the dark area of a light-dark box after conditioning is reduced indicating abnormal response to stressful events in the passive avoidance test
• treatment with the monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor TCP increases the latency to enter the dark box in the light-dark box test to the same level as untreated wild-type mice
• treatment with the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitor clorgyline decreases the latency of mice to enter the dark area after conditioning even further
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• in forced swimming tests performed on 2 successive days, the time spent immobile by mutants on the second day is lower than in wild-type mice
• however, latencies to remove the tail form the heat and responses to the hot plate are unchanged and escape latency during training or the time in the target quadrant during probe trials in the Morris water maze test are similar to wild-type mice
• treatment with the MAO inhibitor TCP has no effect on immobility time on the second day of the forced swimming test in mutants compared with wild-type mice which show reduced immobility time when treated with TCP
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• the time spent in the open arms and the numbers of entries into open arms of the elevated plus maze are decreased indicating enhanced anxiety-like behavior in response to unexpected nonpainful sensory stimuli
• however, the total distances in the open field and home cage activity are unaltered and latencies to fall in the rotarod test are similar to wild-type mice
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• the total number of moving events and time spent in the center of the open field are decreased indicating enhanced anxiety-like behavior in response to exposure to new stimuli
• treatment with the MAO inhibitor TCP rescues the reduction in the total number of movements in the open field to wild-type levels
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• mutants show an increase in the duration of contact with conspecifics in an unfamiliar space during a social interaction test
• in a resident-intrude test, mice spend increased time in social investigation (sniffing or following intruder) with the unfamiliar intruder
• however, mice show no alterations in the hidden cookie, auditory startle response, or prepulse inhibition tests
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homeostasis/metabolism
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• decrease in norepinephrine levels in the locus ceruleus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala in either stressed or resting conditions
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• decrease in serotonin levels in the locus ceruleus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala in either stressed or resting conditions
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• MAO-A enzymatic activity is enhanced in the locus ceruleus but not in other brain regions
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nervous system
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• MAO-A protein levels and enzymatic activity are increased in the locus ceruleus
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