Introducing Female Black Swiss Mice: Minimal Effects of Sex in a Strain-Specific Battery of Tests for Mania-Like Behavior and Response to Lithium

Abstract

Black Swiss (BS) mice were shown to be an advantageous strain to model behavioral domains of mania, but to date only male mice were tested, whereas bipolar disorder (BPD) is equally prevalent in women and men. This study was therefore designed to examine the possibility of using both male and female BS mice in future studies. Groups of male and female BS mice were compared with each other, with or without lithium treatment, in tests for domains of mania-like behavior including activity in an open field, sweet solution preference, elevated plus maze, forced swim and amphetamine-induced hyperactivity. The results indicate mostly a similarity between female and male BS mice, both naïve and after chronic lithium treatment. The results are discussed in the context of the deficiency in utilizing female mice in animal models research and suggest that both male and female BS mice can be used to model domains of mania-like behavior.