Perseveration, defined as resistance to change in routine and repetitive behaviors, is one of the core symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders. It was proposed that an inability to break habits, experienced by autistic people, corresponds, in animal models, to impaired performance in the learning tasks that assess ability to change a response strategy to obtain reinforcement. However, the results of conventional behavioral tests can be confounded by anxiety related to handling and social isolation. In order to avoid such effects and to analyze phenotypes of subjects in an efficient manner, we developed a battery of automated tests aimed at appraising behavioral flexibility in mice. The tests were performed in the IntelliCage (IC), a computer-controlled system, which can be used for long-term monitoring of group-housed animals. These tests allow for measuring of exploration patterns, pace and progress of appetitive and reversal learning. To standardize and evaluate the relevant IC tests, we compared valproate treated and control animals from two inbred strains of mice, C57BL/6 and BALB/c. We show that tested mice differ significantly in most of the examined parameters. The obtained results are highly replicable between tested cohorts of subjects, thereby allowing us to infer, that the reported battery of automated behavioral and cognitive tests is a valuable tool in verifying suitability of mouse models of ASD symptoms.
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