Behavioral approach to probe altered neurotransmission in autoimmune NZB/BINJ mice: Implications for investigations of cognitive dysfunctions

Autoimmune NZB/BlNJ mice exhibit deficits in learning and memory that show accelerated appearance with age relative to nonautoimmune mice. NZB/BlNJ mice also exhibit an accelerated age‐dependent increase in brain‐reactive antibodies (BRA). The authors review studies employing neuropharmacological probes to examine whether or not autoimmune NZB/BlNJ mice exhibit abnormalities of neurotransmission that would be consistent with learning and memory deficits. NZB/BINJ mice exhibited abnormal responses when tested for motor activity and hypothermia following cholinomimetics and showed accelerated age‐related changes in sensitivity to diazepam. Overall, the experiments reviewed suggest the presence of altered neurological functions in autoimmune NZB/BINJ mice.