Editing Laboratory mouse (section)

===C57BL/6===
[[File:Black 6 mouse eating.jpg|thumb|A female C57BL/6 laboratory mouse]]
{{main|C57BL/6}} 
C57BL/6 mice have a dark brown, nearly black coat.  They are more sensitive to noise and odours and are more likely to bite than the more docile laboratory strains such as [[BALB/c]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cellmigration.org/resource/komouse/protocols/mouse_management_feb06.pdf|title=Aurora's Guide to Mo use Colony Management|vauthors=Connor AB|date=2006|work=Cell Migration Gateway|publisher=CMC Activity Center|access-date=19 December 2013|archive-date=23 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923201637/http://www.cellmigration.org/resource/komouse/protocols/mouse_management_feb06.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Group-housed C57BL/6 mice (and other strains) display barbering behaviour, which used to be seen as a sign of dominance. However, it is now known that this is more of a stereotypical behaviour triggered by stress, comparable to [[trichotillomania]] in humans or feather plucking in parrots.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Garner JP, Weisker SM, Dufour B, Mench JA | title = Barbering (fur and whisker trimming) by laboratory mice as a model of human trichotillomania and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders | journal = Comparative Medicine | volume = 54 | issue = 2 | pages = 216–24 | date = April 2004 | pmid = 15134369 | url = http://www.dietvet-holistic.hu/download/ChR_2008/garner.cm.barberingepidemiology.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003543/http://www.dietvet-holistic.hu/download/ChR_2008/garner.cm.barberingepidemiology.pdf | archive-date = 2013-12-03 }}</ref> Mice that have been barbered extensively can have large bald patches on their bodies, commonly around the head, snout, and shoulders, although barbering may appear anywhere on the body. Also self-barbering can occur. Both hair and [[whiskers|vibrissae]] may be removed. Barbering is more frequently seen in female mice; male mice are more likely to display dominance through fighting.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sarna JR, Dyck RH, Whishaw IQ | title = The Dalila effect: C57BL6 mice barber whiskers by plucking | journal = Behavioural Brain Research | volume = 108 | issue = 1 | pages = 39–45 | date = February 2000 | pmid = 10680755 | doi = 10.1016/S0166-4328(99)00137-0 | s2cid = 18334770 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.519.7265 }}</ref>

C57BL/6 has several unusual characteristics which make it useful for some research studies but inappropriate for others: It is unusually sensitive to pain and to cold, and [[analgesic]] medications are less effective in this strain.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Mogil JS, Wilson SG, Bon K, Lee SE, Chung K, Raber P, Pieper JO, Hain HS, Belknap JK, Hubert L, Elmer GI, Chung JM, Devor M | display-authors = 6 | title = Heritability of nociception I: responses of 11 inbred mouse strains on 12 measures of nociception | journal = Pain | volume = 80 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 67–82 | date = March 1999 | pmid = 10204719 | doi = 10.1016/s0304-3959(98)00197-3 | s2cid = 17604906 }}</ref> Unlike most laboratory mouse strains, the C57BL/6 drinks [[alcoholic beverage]]s voluntarily. It is more susceptible than average to [[morphine addiction]], [[atherosclerosis]], and age-related [[hearing loss]].<ref name="Trouble" /> When compared directly to BALB/c mice, C57BL/6 mice also express both a robust response to social rewards<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Panksepp JB, Lahvis GP | title = Social reward among juvenile mice | journal = Genes, Brain and Behavior | volume = 6 | issue = 7 | pages = 661–71 | date = October 2007 | pmid = 17212648 | pmc = 2040181 | doi = 10.1111/j.1601-183X.2006.00295.x | url = }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Panksepp JB, Jochman KA, Kim JU, Koy JJ, Wilson ED, Chen Q, Wilson CR, Lahvis GP | display-authors = 6 | title = Affiliative behavior, ultrasonic communication and social reward are influenced by genetic variation in adolescent mice | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 2 | issue = 4 | pages = e351 | date = April 2007 | pmid = 17406675 | pmc = 1831495 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0000351 | bibcode = 2007PLoSO...2..351P | doi-access = free }}</ref> and empathy.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Chen Q, Panksepp JB, Lahvis GP | title = Empathy is moderated by genetic background in mice | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 4 | issue = 2 | pages = e4387 | date = 2009-02-11 | pmid = 19209221 | pmc = 2633046 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0004387 | bibcode = 2009PLoSO...4.4387C | doi-access = free }}</ref>