Scoring of Social Interactions and Play in Mice During Adolescence

Abstract

This unit provides a description of methods that have proven useful in characterizing amicable and playful interactions of developing mice. Such a procedure can be used to evaluate the effects of perinatal and/or ongoing treatments on the social performance of periadolescent subjects of either or both sexes. It can also be complemented by the use of specific acute drug challenges, which can throw light on possible alterations of the subserving neurochemical systems. Basically, it consists of video recording brief sessions of spontaneous pair interactions and their subsequent observation and scoring according to a detailed mouse ethogram. The protocol is quite sensitive to subtle behavioral effects, which could be undetectable by other means, and it is most useful when repeated over several days to draw an ontogenetic profile. Critical parameters that must be considered when planning, e.g., sample size and timing of observations, are discussed in detail, along with the key issue of controlling for litter effects.

Aspen shaving versus chip bedding: effects on breeding and behavior

“…39 Mice devote a significant portion of their natural behavioral repertoire to social behaviors such as play (particularly in juveniles), patrolling, dominance/submission behaviors, sniffing, fighting, and reproduction-related behaviors. 40 The social interaction test used in the present experiment has two components. In the sociability test, time spent with and in the vicinity of a novel mouse is compared with time spent exploring or near a novel object.…”

Found in translation: Understanding the biology and behavior of experimental traumatic brain injury

“…Many of these interactions are readily observable in rodents, and mouse models have been developed to study the core symptoms seen in autism spectrum disorders as well as other neurodevelopmental conditions such as fragile × syndrome (Kooy et al, 1996; McFarlane et al, 2008; Young et al, 2010). Laboratory Mus musculus display a broad repertoire of quantifiable social behaviors including approach to olfactory pheromones and other mice, ultrasonic vocalizations, communal nesting, scent marking, aggression, sexual and play behaviors (Terranova and Laviola, 2005; Silverman et al, 2010; Crawley, 2012). The most common paradigms to assess social behavior are described here briefly.…”

“…Two unfamiliar rodents are permitted free exploration within a specified arena, and social investigation is quantified (Wöhr and Scattoni, 2013). Different interactive actions including sniffing, body contact, aggressive behaviors, climbing, mounting, huddling, close following and play behaviors may be assessed, and parameters such as the session length, arena size, time of day and prior social experiences can be modified according to the experimental aims (Terranova and Laviola, 2005; An et al, 2011). Repeated testing of the same mice is usually possible, allowing for the evaluation of developmental trajectories across age (Silverman et al, 2010).…”

“…Thus evaluating the ability of experimental mice to detect volatile odors, for example, in a buried food olfactory discrimination task, is advisable (Yang and Crawley, 2009). In addition, social behaviors are particular sensitive to handling and housing conditions, as well as previous life experiences, particularly social isolation (Pietropaoloa et al, 2004; Terranova and Laviola, 2005; Crawley, 2007). Test variables including lighting, background noise, cage/arena size, the length of the habituation period and test duration, vary widely across studies and make comparisons somewhat difficult between different laboratories.…”

Hippocampal CA2 Region: A New Player in Social Dysfunctions

“…Knockout of vasopressin 1b receptor in mouse CA2 reduces aggression and impairs social recognition, but spares spatial learning [42]. The adenosine A1 receptor has strongest immunoreactivity in adult rat CA2 [43]. mRNA expression of a neurotrophic factors, fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), increases only in CA2 after controlled stress [44].…”