Reproducibility of behavioral phenotypes in mouse models - a short history with critical and practical notes

Progress in pre-clinical research is built on reproducible findings, yet reproducibility has different dimensions and even meanings. Indeed, the terms reproducibility, repeatability, and replicability are often used interchangeably, although each has a distinct definition. Moreover, reproducibility can be discussed at the level of methods, analysis, results, or conclusions. Despite these differences in definitions and dimensions, the main aim for an individual research group is the ability to develop new studies and hypotheses based on firm and reliable findings from previous experiments. In practice this wish is often difficult to accomplish. In this review, issues affecting reproducibility in the field of mouse behavioral phenotyping are discussed.