Distinct dynamics of social motivation drive differential social behavior in laboratory rat and mouse strains

Netser, Shai; Meyer, Ana Claire; Magalnik, Hen; Zylbertal, Asaph; Zerda, Shani Haskal de la; Briller, Mayan; Bizer, Alexander; Grinevich, Valery; Wagner, Shlomo

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19569-0

Cited by 63 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…A possible explanation for the differences between the study by Matthews et al and ours is the use of different models systems (mice vs. rats). We have recently shown that compared to mice, rats present with higher and more immediate motivation for social interactions [ 61 ]. Accordingly, a pervious study found that changes in the social motivation of acutely isolated rats are restricted to young age [ 62 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute social isolation and regrouping cause short- and long-term molecular changes in the rat medial amygdala

et al. 2021

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Social isolation poses a severe mental and physiological burden on humans. Most animal models that investigate this effect are based on prolonged isolation, which does not mimic the milder conditions experienced by people in the real world. We show that in adult male rats, acute social isolation causes social memory loss. This memory loss is accompanied by significant changes in the expression of specific mRNAs and proteins in the medial amygdala, a brain structure that is crucial for social memory. These changes particularly involve the neurotrophic signaling and axon guidance pathways that are associated with neuronal network remodeling. Upon regrouping, memory returns, and most molecular changes are reversed within hours. However, the expression of some genes, especially those associated with neurodegenerative diseases remain modified for at least a day longer. These results suggest that acute social isolation and rapid resocialization, as experienced by millions during the COVID-19 pandemic, are sufficient to induce significant changes to neuronal networks, some of which may be pathological.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute social isolation and regrouping cause short- and long-term molecular changes in the rat medial amygdala

et al. 2021

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“…One limitation of our work was the use of a very specific population for our study: male adult Sprague Dawley rats. Although we do not anticipate major problems in using the modified Food Competition test in other rat strains, behavioral differences have been already reported in several social and nonsocial behaviors between Long-Evans, Wistar and Sprague–Dawley rats 23 . It could be possible that different rat strains would react differently to the subtle conflict we induce in the cage during the modified Food Competition test, and that acute aggressive encounters could be observed depending on the strain.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…These results thus underscore the necessity of including multidimensional analysis of behavior and the importance of taking into account qualitative measurements when describing social interactions. Furthermore, although it might be surprising that the tube test is not a reliable measure of established hierarchy in rats, important differences in social behavior between mice and rats are starting to be reported 22 , 23 . Rats are more socially tolerant, and less hierarchical compared to mice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel competition test for food rewards reveals stable dominance status in adult male rats

Costa

Moita

Márquez

2021

Sci Rep

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Social hierarchy is a potent modulator of behavior, that is typically established through overt agonistic interactions between individuals in the group. Once established, social ranks are maintained through subtler interactions allowing the redirection of energy away from agonistic interactions towards other needs. The available tasks for assessing social rank in rats allow the study of the mechanisms by which social hierarches are formed in early phases but fail to assess the maintenance of established hierarchies between stable pairs of animals, which might rely on distinct neurobiological mechanisms. Here we present and validate a novel trial-based dominancy assay, the modified Food Competition test, where established social hierarchies can be identified in the home cage of non-food deprived pairs of male rats. In this task, we introduce a small conflict in the home cage, where access to a new feeder containing palatable pellets can only be gained by one animal at a time. We found that this subtle conflict triggered asymmetric social interactions and resulted in higher consumption of food by one of the animals in the pair, which reliably predicted hierarchy in other tests. Our findings reveal stable dominance status in pair-housed rats and provide a novel tool for the evaluation of established social hierarchies, the modified Food Competition test, that is robust and easy to implement.

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“…These results thus underscore the necessity of including multidimensional analysis of behavior and the importance of taking into account qualitative measurements when describing social interactions. Furthermore, although it might be surprising that the tube test is not a reliable measure of stablished hierarchy in rats, important differences in social behavior between mice and rats are starting to be reported 22,23 . Rats are more socially tolerant, and less hierarchical compared to mice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel Competition test for food rewards reveals stable dominance status in adult male rats

Costa

Moita

Márquez

2020

Preprint

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Social hierarchy is a potent modulator of behavior in many species, including humans, that is typically established through overt agonistic interactions between individuals in the group. Once established, social ranks are maintained through subtler interactions allowing the redirection of energy away from agonistic interactions towards other needs. Most of the available tasks for assessing social rank in rodents allow the study of the mechanisms by which social hierarches are formed but fail to assess the maintenance of established hierarchies between stable pairs of animals, which might rely on distinct neurobiological mechanisms. Here we present and validate a novel trial-based dominancy assay, the modified Food Competition test, where established social hierarchies can be identified in the home cage of non-food deprived pairs of male rats. In this task, we introduce a small conflict in the home cage, where access to a new feeder containing palatable pellets can only be gained by one animal at a time. We found that this subtle conflict triggered asymmetric social interactions and resulted in higher consumption of food by one of the animals in the pair. To assess the reliability of the observed asymmetries as reflecting dominance relationships we investigated the behavior of same rat dyads in multiple social tasks adapted from social hierarchy studies. We found a positive correlation in dominance indices across most tests used. Our findings reveal stable dominance status in pair housed rats and provide a novel tool for the evaluation of established social hierarchies, the modified Food Competition test, that is robust and easy to implement, thus expanding the set of tasks available to study dominance in the lab.

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Distinct dynamics of social motivation drive differential social behavior in laboratory rat and mouse strains

Cited by 63 publications

References 63 publications

Acute social isolation and regrouping cause short- and long-term molecular changes in the rat medial amygdala

Acute social isolation and regrouping cause short- and long-term molecular changes in the rat medial amygdala

Novel competition test for food rewards reveals stable dominance status in adult male rats

Novel Competition test for food rewards reveals stable dominance status in adult male rats

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