Responses to novelty in staggerer mutant mice.

Responses to novelty in normal C57BL/6 and staggerer mutant mice were recorded. The normal mice confronted a novel object in their familiar environment showed avoidance and burying responses while the staggerer mutant mice contacted it. When given the opportunity to move around freely in simultaneously presented novel and familiar environments, the mutant mice more quickly entered the novel areas than normal animals. these data reveal a significant decrease in the neophobic components of the neotic behaviour in the staggerer mice. However, since the mutant mice did not show a locomotor deficit, the impairment of neophobia seems not to be due to the gait abnormalities of these animals. The results support the view that the cerebellum may contribute to the organization of complex behaviours.