Wheel-running activity increases with social stress in male DBA mice.
Social affiliation-avoidance behaviors are essential indices of sociality. We examined changes in social affiliation-avoidance behaviors in an open-field apparatus while simultaneously measuring wheel-running activity. Recent studies suggest that mice increase wheel-running activity in stressful situations; thus, we hypothesized that wheel-running activity would reflect a state of social stress and avoidance. Mean duration of wheel-running increased significantly when mice were confronted with unfamiliar mice compared to cage mates. There were negative correlations between the amount of wheel-running and social affiliation indices. We also examined the effect of social defeat on wheel-running activity. Mice that had experienced social defeat significantly increased their wheel-running when an aggressor mouse was present. This social defeat-induced wheel-running activity was ameliorated by the administration of diazepam. Our results indicate that wheel-running activity is relevant to social affiliation-avoidance behaviors and may be a reliable index of anxiety induced by social stress.
Uchiumi
Kaori
K
Department of Veterinary Ethology, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Aoki
Mami
M
Kikusui
Takefumi
T
Takeuchi
Yukari
Y
Mori
Yuji
Y
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000097:blood / Q000523:psychology; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D035841:Behavioral Research / Q000379:methods; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D004208:Displacement, Psychological; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors
D003345:Corticosterone