A Complex Diving-For-Food Task to Investigate Social Organization and Interactions in Rats.

Abstract

For many species, where status is a vital motivator that can affect health, social hierarchies influence behavior. Social hierarchies that include dominant-submissive relationships are common in both animal and human societies. These relationships can be affected by interactions with others and with their environment, making them difficult to analyze in a controlled study. Rather than a simple dominance hierarchy, this formation has a complicated presentation that allows rats to avoid aggression. Status can be stagnant or mutable, and results in complex societal stratifications. Here we describe a complex diving-for-food task to investigate rodent social hierarchy and behavioral interactions. This animal model may allow us to assess the relationship between a wide range of mental illnesses and social organization, as well as to study the effectiveness of therapy on social dysfunction.

• Authors: Benjamin F Gruenbaum, Dmitry Frank, Shiri Savir, Honore N Shiyntum, Ruslan Kuts, Max Vinokur, Israel Melamed, Michael Dubilet, Alexander Zlotnik, Matthew Boyko
• Journal: Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE (J Vis Exp) Issue 171 (05 08 2021) ISSN: 1940-087X [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 34028432 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Video-Audio Media)

Topics

• Aggression
• Animals
• Behavior, Animal
• Diving
• Food
• Hierarchy, Social
• Rats
• Social Dominance