title: Social transmission of food preference in mice: methodology and application to galanin-overexpressing transgenic mice.
abstract: Social transmission of food preference (STFP) is a test of olfactory memory that can be used in mice. Confounds in STFP that can lead to misinterpretation of an STFP deficit as a memory impairment include changes in social interaction and olfaction. The issue of changes in social interaction was addressed by evaluating an observer-centric and a demonstrator-centric method for scoring the interaction phase of STFP in mice. The demonstrator-centric method was applied to a line of STFP-impaired, galanin-overexpressing transgenic (GAL-tg). GAL-tg mice were impaired in STFP without deficits in social interaction. In tests of olfactory ability, GAL-tg mice were unimpaired on buried-food and habituation-dishabituation tasks. The current studies describe an expanded method for using STFP in mice and confirm a deficit in olfactory memory in GAL-tg mice.
authors.affiliation: Section on Behavioral Genomics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1375, USA. wrennc@intra.nimh.nih.gov
authors.forename: Craige C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Wrenn
authors.forename: Ashley P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Maria C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Saavedra
authors.forename: Jacqueline N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Crawley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005518:Food Preferences; D019004:Galanin / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D008568:Memory; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D012903:Smell; D012919:Social Behavior
chemical_list: D019004:Galanin