Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40907932›Full record

ArticlePhysiology & behavior2025

To play or not to play? Effects of social isolation length and stimulus rat familiarity on social play engagement in three laboratory rat strains.

Isabella C Orsucci, Kira D Becker, Jackson R Ham, Jessica D A Lee, Samantha M Bowden, Alexa H Veenema

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Article in Physiology & behavior, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Isabella C OrsucciNeurobiology of Social Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Kira D BeckerNeurobiology of Social Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Jackson R HamDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Alberta, Canada.
Jessica D A LeeNeurobiology of Social Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Samantha M BowdenNeurobiology of Social Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Alexa H VeenemaNeurobiology of Social Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Electronic address: aveenema@msu.edu.

Funding

Oxytocin neural circuitry involvement in juvenile social playR01MH125806 · NIMH · MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · PI Alexandra H. Veenema · 2022 to 2026
$1.9M
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH125806
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Social play is displayed by juveniles of many mammalian species and is vital to the development of social skills as shown in humans and rats. Here, we determined how two external conditions, social isolation length and social stimulus familiarity, modulate social play levels (by the experimental animals) and social play defense tactics (by the stimulus animals) in juveniles of three common laboratory rat strains: Long-Evans, Sprague-Dawley, and Wistar. Experimental rats were socially isolated for either 2 h or 48 h and were then exposed in their home cage to a familiar (cage mate) or novel sex-, age-, and strain-matched stimulus rat. We found that Long-Evans rats played more with familiar than with novel rats, irrespective of time isolated, Sprague-Dawley rats played the most in the 48h-Familiar condition, and Wistar rats played the least in the 2h-Familiar condition. Moreover, Wistar rats played more with novel rats than Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats. Among the defense tactics analyzed, Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley stimulus rats showed more counter nape attacks with familiar than with novel rats, Sprague-Dawley stimulus rats also showed more counter nape attacks after a 2 h versus 48 h isolation while Wistar rats showed more counter nape attacks after a 48 h versus 2 h isolation. The effects of the external conditions on social play levels and defense tactics were similar across sex for the three strains. Overall, more social play and more counter nape attacks were observed with a familiar playmate in Long-Evans rats, with a familiar playmate and 48 h isolation (social play) or 2 h isolation (counter nape attacks) in Sprague-Dawley rats, and with a familiar or novel playmate after 48 h isolation in Wistar rats. Future research could determine whether strain differences in neuronal mechanisms underlie these condition-induced variations in social play engagement.

Indexed as

Play and PlaythingsRecognition, PsychologySocial BehaviorSocial IsolationAnimalsFemaleMaleRatsRats, Long-EvansRats, Sprague-DawleyRats, WistarSpecies SpecificityTime FactorsFamiliarJuvenile ratsLong-EvansNovelPlay fightingRole reversalsSexSocial isolationSprague-DawleyWistar

Identifiers

PMID40907932
PMCPMC12668800

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.