title: C57BL/6J mice fail to exhibit preference for social novelty in the three-chamber apparatus.
abstract: Laboratory models of neurodevelopmental disorders may be useful in assessing investigation and preference for social partners in mice. One such mouse model, the three-chamber test, is increasingly used as an index of social preference. The first phase measures preference for a social stimulus over an identical chamber without a stimulus mouse. The second phase measures preference for a novel mouse compared to the familiar mouse when the latter is presented in the previously empty chamber. In this study we provided an additional analysis of the second phase of the three-chamber test procedure, reversing the typical placement of the novel and familiar stimulus animals. In the first study, male C57BL/6J mice subjects encountered C57BL/6J stimuli and preferred a novel mouse over an empty chamber but failed to show a preference for the novel mouse in Phase 2 when the stimuli presentation was reversed. In an additional study, male C57BL/6J subjects encountered outbred CD-1 mice as stimuli, showing no significant novelty preference in either phase. Specific behavioral indices of investigation were similar to these duration findings with no enhancement of investigation when the novel stimulus mouse was encountered in the chamber in which the initial social stimulus was presented. These data suggest that C57BL/6J mice may show enhanced investigation/preference of novel social stimuli in the three-chamber test only when these stimuli are presented in a relatively novel context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. pearsonb@hawaii.edu
authors.forename: Brandon L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: Erwin B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Defensor
authors.forename: D Caroline
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Blanchard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2001 Feb;2(2):129-36
references.pmid: 11252992
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2008 Jun 26;190(1):97-104
references.pmid: 18359521
references.citation: Brain Res Bull. 2002 Jan 1;57(1):109-19
references.pmid: 11827743
references.citation: Pediatr Clin North Am. 2008 Oct;55(5):1129-46, viii
references.pmid: 18929056
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2007 Jan 10;176(1):40-52
references.pmid: 16996147
references.citation: Behav Neurosci. 2003 Feb;117(1):21-31
references.pmid: 12619904
references.citation: Genes Brain Behav. 2007 Oct;6(7):661-71
references.pmid: 17212648
references.citation: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1986 Sep;27(5):657-69
references.pmid: 3771682
references.citation: Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1993;18(4):323-35
references.pmid: 8316618
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2009 Oct 12;203(1):54-64
references.pmid: 19379777
references.citation: Curr Protoc Neurosci. 2003 May;Chapter 8:Unit 8.16
references.pmid: 18428583
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 1991 Sep;5(2):167-76
references.pmid: 1931809
references.citation: Nature. 2001 Dec 6;414(6864):631-4
references.pmid: 11740558
references.citation: Genes Brain Behav. 2009 Mar;8(2):129-42
references.pmid: 19016890
references.citation: Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev. 2004;10(4):248-58
references.pmid: 15666335
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2006 Mar 1;59(5):415-23
references.pmid: 16199013
references.citation: Brain Res. 2009 Oct 19;1294:116-27
references.pmid: 19643092
references.citation: Brain Pathol. 2007 Oct;17(4):448-59
references.pmid: 17919130
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2007 Jan 10;176(1):21-6
references.pmid: 17097158
references.citation: Genes Brain Behav. 2004 Oct;3(5):303-14
references.pmid: 15344923
references.citation: Brain Res. 2004 Mar 26;1002(1-2):151-7
references.pmid: 14988045
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2008 Aug 5;191(1):118-29
references.pmid: 18440079
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2007 Jan 10;176(1):27-39
references.pmid: 16971001
references.citation: Genes Brain Behav. 2004 Oct;3(5):287-302
references.pmid: 15344922
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2002 Jan 1;51(1):18-26
references.pmid: 11801228
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2008 Nov 21;193(2):235-42
references.pmid: 18586054