Virus-induced behavioral alteration of mice.

Neonatal mice were inoculated intracerebrally with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCM). These mice developed long-term persistent tolerant infections and when tested at 3.5 to 6.0 months of age they showed significant increases in behavioral latency when subjected to open-field tests, and significant decreases in the current level required to elicit to startle response and in locomotor activity in a running wheel. Comparable results were obtained with mice in which persistent infection was induced at 8 weeks of age and which were tested at 3.5 to 6.0 months of age. It was concluded that mice infected with LCM at birth or as adults exhibited long-lasting behavioral abnormalities.