Uses of vision by rats in play fighting and other close-quarter social interactions

Pellis, Sergio M.; McKenna, Mario; Field, Evelyn F.; Pellis, Vivien C.; Prusky, Glen T.; Whishaw, Ian Q.

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(95)02162-0

Cited by 25 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Adult mice of both sexes will vocalize in social situations such as aggressive encounters or copulation, and vocalizations can be elicited by exposing mice to urine or environments conditioned to be viewed as social [27,48,50]. Tactile input, including information gathered via the vibrissae, is likely employed in aggressive, affiliative and sexual interactions [1,6,33,49].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Olfactory cues are sufficient to elicit social approach behaviors but not social transmission of food preference in C57BL/6J mice

Ryan

Young

Moy

et al. 2008

Behavioural Brain Research

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Mouse models for the study of autistic-like behaviors are increasingly needed to test hypotheses about the causes of autism, and to evaluate potential treatments. Both the automated 3-chambered social approach test and social transmission of food preference have been proposed as mouse behavioral assays with face validity to diagnostic symptoms of autism, including aberrant reciprocal social interactions and impaired communication. Both assays measure aspects of normal social behavior in the mouse. However, little is known regarding the salient cues present in each assay that elicit normal social approach and communication. To deconstruct the critical components, we focused on delivering discrete social and non-social olfactory and visual cues within the context of each assay. Results indicate that social olfactory cues were sufficient to elicit normal sociability in the 3-chambered social approach test On social transmission of food preference, isolated social olfactory cues were sufficient to induce social investigation, but not sufficient to induce food preference. These findings indicate that olfactory cues are important in mouse social interaction, but that additional sensory cues are necessary in certain situations. The present evidence that both the 3-chambered social approach assay and the social transmission of food preference assay require socially relevant cues to elicit normal behavior supports the use of these two assays to investigate autismrelated behavioral phenotypes in mice.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Olfactory cues are sufficient to elicit social approach behaviors but not social transmission of food preference in C57BL/6J mice

Ryan

Young

Moy

et al. 2008

Behavioural Brain Research

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“…While it is known that alcohol exposure during development alters play behavior, the mechanism of this effect is not understood. Social play behavior is influenced by visual, olfactory, auditory and somatosensory cues [72,53,56]. Evidence suggests that somatosensory cues may be particularly important.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While extrapolation from neural changes in one contributing neural system to the behavioral manifestation of a complex behavior such as play is fraught with possibility for error, we predict that alcohol exposure during development results in an increase in somatosensory thresholds in the nape of the neck. This increase in threshold will result in an increase in pinning because the response of an ethanol-exposed rat will only occur when the rat pair is in close proximity to each other and thus the response is most likely to be pinning rather than another play behavior [53]. Because of the reduced cell number in the somatosensory cortex [38,43,57], there will be less redundancy in the system and thus, it was predicted that the degradation of the somatosensory signals would have a greater effect in the ethanol-exposed rats compared to controls.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of alcohol exposure during development on play behavior and c-Fos expression in response to play behavior

Lawrence

Bonner

Newsom

et al. 2008

Behavioural Brain Research

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Developmental exposure to alcohol can produce characteristic physiological and cognitive deficits, often termed Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). More recently, social deficits have been shown to occur both in FASD and animal models of FASD; the behavioral and neural bases of these deficits remain to be determined. It was hypothesized that changes in sensory processing may in part underlie the social deficits seen in FASD. This study used a rat model of FASD and social play, a behavior critical to adult social functioning, to begin to examine this hypothesis. Somatosensory cues from dorsal contact to the nape of the neck, critical to the initiation of pinning, were systematically degraded by administration of different doses of xylocaine, a topical anesthetic. Neuronal activity after 1h of play was assessed by measurement of c-Fos immunoreactivity (IR) in different brain regions. Ethanol-exposed rats showed an increased frequency of pinning during social play and were more sensitive to the degradation of somatosensory cues compared to the control groups, suggesting difficulties in processing somatosensory cues. Neuronal activity in the somatosensory cortex induced by play was significantly decreased in the ethanol-exposed group compared to the non-treated group. The c-Fos IR in the nucleus accumbens was altered in a sexually dimorphic manner in the ethanol-exposed group. Thus, the behavioral and brain measures are consistent with the hypothesis that ethanol exposure during development induces alterations in social play via deficits in processing somatosensory cues that are important to social play.

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“…However, such signals are not found in many other species, and the present study also fails to find any in rats. Some researchers have shown that rats use visual cues in play fighting (Pellis et al 1996). Acoustic cues may also be used since ultrasonic vocalization is emitted during play fighting (Knutson et al 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…It would be adaptive especially for sexually mature animals to discriminate a play-fighting situation from a serious one (Pellis et al 1996), or to prevent play fighting from turning into serious fighting. It is then possible to assume that during interactions, rats present some kind of cue that distinguishes the two fighting situations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of social interaction between unfamiliar male rats (Rattus norvegicus): comparison of juvenile and adult stages

Yamada-Haga

2002

J Ethol

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Social interaction between juvenile male rats that were unfamiliar with one another (JNI) was compared with that of adult unfamiliar animals (ANI). In their home cages, subjects were confronted with a stimulus conspecific and their agonistic behavior patterns were analyzed. It was found that behaviors that characterize "play fighting" (pouncing, submissive posture, on-top posture, etc.) were observed more in JNI than in ANI, whereas behaviors found in serious fighting (pawing, upright posture, etc.) were shown more in ANI. Analyses of the transitions between behaviors also revealed that the transitions constituting play fighting were found only in JNI. On the other hand, transitions that characterize serious fighting were shown in both JNI and ANI. These findings are discussed along with those of a previous study that observed the agonistic behavior between littermates, and the existence of some cue that signals the play-fighting situation among rats is suggested.

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Uses of vision by rats in play fighting and other close-quarter social interactions

Cited by 25 publications

References 35 publications

Olfactory cues are sufficient to elicit social approach behaviors but not social transmission of food preference in C57BL/6J mice

Olfactory cues are sufficient to elicit social approach behaviors but not social transmission of food preference in C57BL/6J mice

Effects of alcohol exposure during development on play behavior and c-Fos expression in response to play behavior

Characteristics of social interaction between unfamiliar male rats (Rattus norvegicus): comparison of juvenile and adult stages

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