Online Issues

Journal Vol 50 (1)

Optimization of Laboratory Conditions for the Study of Social Behavior

Scott R. Wersinger and Lisa B. Martin

Scott R. Wersinger, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, and Lisa B. Martin, DVM, DACLAM, is Director of Comparative Medicine and Laboratory Animal Facilities, both at the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Scott R. Wersinger, Department of Psychology, B-72 Park Hall, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14260 or email sw39@buffalo.edu.

Abstract

Social behavior—an action directed toward, or in response to, a member of the same species—is tightly regulated but also highly plastic. It is influenced by many internal (e.g., age, hormonal state, and experience) and external (e.g., time of day, availability of food, encounters with conspecifics) factors. The study of social behavior in the laboratory can be challenging because many facets of social behavior are optimally expressed under specific circumstances. In addition, social behavior is particularly sensitive to environmental factors that are affected by routine animal husbandry. The goal of this article is to review for new investigators and for animal facility staff the major factors that can affect animals' social behavior in the laboratory in order to optimize conditions for the laboratory analysis of social behavior. The authors outline a basic theoretical foundation about the study of social behavior, including the concept of umwelt, an animal's subjective sensory world. They then briefly describe some of the most commonly studied social behaviors and a few examples of the basic methods to analyze these social behaviors. They discuss the potential effects of a facility's husbandry practices on social behavior and how to control these factors as well as possible, with suggestions of several new standard operating procedures toward this end. Although this paper focuses on rodents, the general principles apply to all species. The authors hope that the reader will consider all these factors when designing experiments or working in the animal facility.

Key Words: animal facility; behavior; circadian rhythm; housing conditions; laboratory animal husbandry; noise; testing paradigm; umwelt