Memory storage in three inbred mouse strains after injection of cycloheximide

When tested for black-white discrimination learning in a water maze, mice of inbred strain BA showed spontaneous amnesia for the acquired response after 24 hr and 14 days. Both DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice learned the task well 15 min after peripheral injection of saline alone or cycloheximide in saline, but, unlike the DBA/2 animals which had good retention under all three dose-levels used, the animals of the C57BL/6 strain displayed loss of memory following administration of 100 mg/kg of the protein synthesis inhibitor. It is concluded that the effectiveness of cycloheximide in producing impairment of long-term memory storage depends on genetic factors.