学術雑誌論文

学術雑誌論文

text

PLoS ONE. 2023, 18(12), p. e0295280

An exploratory study of behavioral traits and the establishment of social relationships in female laboratory rats

Public Library of Science

英語

text

2023-12-04

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295280

Hakataya S., Katsu N., Okanoya K., et al. (2023) An exploratory study of behavioral traits and the establishment of social relationships in female laboratory rats.　PLoS ONE 18(12): e0295280. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295280.

There is growing evidence that social relationships influence individual fitness through various effects. Clarifying individual differences in social interaction patterns and determinants for such differences will lead to better understanding of sociality and its fitness consequences for animals. Behavioral traits are considered one of the determining factors of social interaction. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of individual behavioral traits on social relationship building in laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus), a highly social species. Initially, the following behavioral characteristics were measured in individuals: tameness (glove test), activity (open field test), exploration (novel object test), sociability (three-chamber test), and boldness (elevated plus maze test). We then used DeepLabCut to behaviorally track three groups of four individuals (12 total) and analyze social behaviors such as approach and avoidance behaviors. Principal component analysis based on behavioral test results detected behavioral traits interpreted as related to exploration, boldness, activity, and tameness, but not sociability. In addition, behavioral tracking results showed consistent individual differences in social behavior indices such as isolation time and partner preference. Furthermore, we found that different components were correlated with different phases of social behavior; exploration and boldness were associated with the early stages of group formation, whereas activity was associated with later stages of relationship building. From these results, we derived hypothesize that personality traits related to the physical and social environment have a larger influence in the relationship formation phase, and the behavioral trait of activity becomes important in the maintenance phase of relationships. Future studies should examine this hypothesis by testing larger group sizes and ensuring there is less bias introduced into group composition.

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

93385

An exploratory study of behavioral traits and the establishment of social relationships in female laboratory rats

Public Library of Science

英語

2023-12-04

PLoS ONE

18

12

e0295280

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295280

https://hdl.handle.net/11094/93385