Impaired water-maze performance in mice lacking transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β

To gain a clue to whether the transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ) is implicated in mouse behavior, the water maze performance of C/EBPβ(-/-) mice was compared with the performance of their wild type (WT) controls. The escape latencies of C/EBPβ(-/-) mice increased along with the number of trials within all training sessions in the hidden-platform tasks. Even in the visible-platform tasks, their escape latencies did not decrease along with the number of trials. The unusual performance in C/EBPβ(-/-) mice during later trials may allow us to presume that they suffer certain emotional vulnerability to stress from the water-maze training, although the involvement of other factors such as motor or immune system should be also considered.