Autoimmunity and avoidance learning in NXRF recombinant inbred strains

Four recombinant inbred (RI) strains, generated from NZB and RF progenitors, were tested on a two-way shuttlebox and their sera were assayed for serological factors. The four RI strains differed with respect to number of null responses and escape time. The strain with the poorest performance displayed the greatest degree of autoimmunity. The avoidance measures were correlated against the autoimmune serological parameters for the four RI strains and the two progenitors. The number of avoidances was negatively correlated with anti-DNA antibody titer, while the number of null responses showed a positive association with immune complex level. Escape time had positive correlations with IgG, IgM-RF, and immune complexes. These findings are consistent with, and extend, our prior reports that avoidance learning is inversely related to the degree of autoimmunity.