ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the use of chemical mutagenesis and the way it has been, and can be, employed in the study of neurobiology and behavior, in particular, the study of behavioral models relevant to psychiatric illness. It aims to provide a framework for selecting appropriate phenotypic assays, breeding and mapping approaches, as well as guidance for the use of mouse mutants in the dissection of complex behavioral pathways. A useful feature of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea -induced point mutations is that the mutant phenotype is caused by the mutation in a single gene; moreover, these mutations can result in either loss or gain of function as well as changes in the level of expression or function. Selection of the appropriate background strain is critical for mutagenesis and chromosomal localization of the mutant locus. Genetic mapping of the mutant locus requires crosses to an inbred strain different from the mutagenized strain.
