Impact of age and situation-specific experience on maze learning and learning-sensitive open-field parameters in mice

Abstract

The effects of age and situation-specific experience on maze learning and learning-sensitive open-field parameters (OFP) in Swiss albino male mice were studied. We tested the mice longitudinally by means of repeated measures and in cross-section by taking independent samples between the ages of 1–16 months. Mice with situation-specific experience improved their performance up to the age of 11 months. For mice lacking prior experience there was a trend toward impaired performance with regard to error scores and running times with increasing age. The ages of 1, 8, and 10 months were most favorable for the occurrence of quantitative maze learning-sensitive OFP changes, and the ages of 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13 months were most favorable for the appearance of qualitative changes. The effect of situation-specific experience was interpreted as indicative of decreased emotionality but increased reactivity to novel stimuli or enhanced territorial behavior at the age of 16 months.