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Marble burying reflects a repetitive and perseverative behavior more than novelty-induced anxiety

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Abstract

Rationale

An increasing number of investigators utilize the marble-burying assay despite the paucity of information available regarding what underlies the behavior.

Objectives

We tested the possibility that a genetic component underlies marble burying in mice and if there is a genetic correlation with other anxiety-like traits. Since findings reported in the literature indicate that marble-burying behavior reflects an anxiety-like response, we explored the assumption that the novel nature of a marble induces this anxiety. Finally, we investigated how the natural response of a mouse to dig relates to the marble-burying phenomenon.

Methods

We examined ten different inbred mouse strains to determine if marble-burying behavior is genetically regulated and correlated with anxiety-like traits in two other assays. We employed multiple variants of the “traditional” marble-burying assay to address how issues such as the novelty of marbles and digging behavior contribute to marble burying.

Results

Marble-burying behavior varied across strain and did not correlate with anxiety measures in other assays. Multiple tests conducted to reduce the novelty of marbles failed to alter burying behavior. Additionally, digging behavior correlated with marble burying, and the presence of marbles did not significantly impact the digging response.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that mouse marble burying is genetically regulated, not correlated with other anxiety-like traits, not stimulated by novelty, and is a repetitive behavior that persists/perseveres with little change across multiple exposures. Marble burying is related to digging behavior and may in fact be more appropriately considered as an indicative measure of repetitive digging.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Baylor Fragile X Center and the Baylor EKS IDDRC (NICHD, HD24064). A.T. and A.B. received partial support from NIGMS training grants T32 GM08307 and TM GM008507, respectively. We would like to thank Dr. Corinne Spencer, Shannon Hamilton, and Randi-Michelle Cowin for their valuable input and suggestions during the course of this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Alexia Thomas & Richard Paylor

  2. Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    April Burant, Nghiem Bui, Deanna Graham, Lisa A. Yuva-Paylor & Richard Paylor

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  1. Alexia Thomas
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  2. April Burant
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  3. Nghiem Bui
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  5. Lisa A. Yuva-Paylor
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  6. Richard Paylor
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Correspondence to Richard Paylor.

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Thomas, A., Burant, A., Bui, N. et al. Marble burying reflects a repetitive and perseverative behavior more than novelty-induced anxiety. Psychopharmacology 204, 361–373 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-009-1466-y

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