Social approach behaviors are similar on conventional versus reverse lighting cycles, and in replications across cohorts, in BTBR T+ tf/J, C57BL/6J, and vasopressin receptor 1B mutant mice

Abstract

Mice are a nocturnal species, whose social behaviors occur primarily during the dark phase of the circadian cycle. However, laboratory rodents are frequently tested during their light phase, for practical reasons. We investigated the question of whether light phase testing presents a methodological pitfall for investigating mouse social approach behaviors. Three lines of mice were systematically compared. One cohort of each line was raised in a conventional lighting schedule and tested during the light phase, under white light illumination; another cohort was raised in a reverse lighting schedule and tested during their dark phase, under dim red light. Male C57BL/6J (B6) displayed high levels of sociability in our three-chambered automated social approach task when tested in either phase. BTBR T+ tf/J (BTBR) displayed low levels of sociability in either phase. Five cohorts of vasopressin receptor subtype 1b (Avpr1b) null mutants, heterozygotes, and wildtype littermate controls were tested in the same social approach paradigm: three in the dark phase and two in the light phase. All three genotypes displayed normal sociability in four out of the five replications. In the juvenile play test, testing phase had no effect on play soliciting behaviors in Avpr1b mice, but had modest effects on nose sniff and huddling. Taken together, these findings indicate that testing phase is not a crucial factor for studying some forms of social approach in juvenile and adult mice.

Genetic, hormonal, and metabolomic influences on social behavior and sex preference of XXY mice

“…We determined the sociability and sex preference of adult 4-to 9-mo-old mice by using a three-chambered choice task to assess social approach behavior as previously described (28,31). The C57BL/6J background strain has been widely studied using this three-chambered apparatus (29,32,49). After a fixed period of habituation to the apparatus, the subject (test) mouse was placed in the center chamber and could choose to explore either the left or right chamber through a single doorway located in each dividing wall (Fig.…”

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

“…This task has face validity to the tendency of autistic children to spend more time playing with an inanimate toy than engaged in social interactions with other children [35,38]. Versions of this assay have been used to measure social behavior in rats [46] and pine voles [19], as well as mouse models of autism [29,34,39,41,42,55,64,65]. However, the specific sensory cues that attract the subject to spend time with the stranger in this task have not yet been determined.…”

“…We have generated an automated 3-chambered social approach task that provides the subject mouse with a choice between spending time with a novel mouse or spending time with a novel non-social object [16,17,[39][40][41][42]44,64,65]. This task has face validity to the tendency of autistic children to spend more time playing with an inanimate toy than engaged in social interactions with other children [35,38].…”

Early Behavioural Alterations in Mouse Models of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Step Forward Towards the Discovery of New Therapeutic Approaches

“…For those who do, speech differs from that in normal children as stereotypic speech that may involve echolalia, pronoun reversal, and unusual inflections and intonations may be displayed. Although stereotyped behaviours have been less investigated than social behaviours in BTBR mice, high levels of repetitive self-grooming have been consistently observed (McFarlane et al, 2008;Yang et al, 2009;Yang et al, 2007a;Yang et al, 2007b). An unusual pattern of ultrasonic vocalizations has also been evidenced in BTBR mice.…”