Social avoidance behavior in male tree shrews and prosocial behavior in male mice toward unfamiliar conspecifics in the laboratory  

作　　者：Rong-Jun Ni Yang Tian Xin-Ye Dai Lian-Sheng Zhao Jin-Xue Wei Jiang-Ning Zhou Xiao-Hong Ma Tao Li 

机构地区：[1]Psychiatric Laboratory and Mental Health Center,West China Hospital of Sichuan University,Chengdu,Sichuan 610041,China [2]Huaxi Brain Research Center,West China Hospital of Sichuan University,Chengdu,Sichuan 610041,China [3]Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases,School of Life Sciences,University of Science and Technology of China,Hefei,Anhui 230027,China

出　　处：《Zoological Research》2020年第3期258-272,共15页动物学研究（英文）

基　　金：the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81671344,31500859);Major International(Regional)Joint Research Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81920108018);1.3.5 Project for Disciplines of Excellence,Special Foundation for Brain Research from the Science and Technology Program of Guangdong(2018B030334001);West China Hospital of Sichuan University(ZY2016103,ZY2016203)。

摘　　要：Adult male tree shrews vigorously defend against intruding male conspecifics. However, the characteristics of social behavior have not been entirely explored in these males. In this study, male wild-type tree shrews(Tupaia belangeri chinensis)and C57 BL/6 J mice were first allowed to familiarize themselves with an open-field apparatus. The tree shrews exhibited a short duration of movement(moving) in the novel environment, whereas the mice exhibited a long duration of movement. In the 30 min social preference-avoidance test, target animals significantly decreased the time spent by the experimental tree shrews in the social interaction(SI)zone, whereas experimental male mice exhibited the opposite. In addition, experimental tree shrews displayed a significantly longer latency to enter the SI zone in the second 15 min session(targetpresent) than in the first 15 min session(targetabsent), which was different from that found in mice.Distinct behavioral patterns in response to a conspecific male were also observed in male tree shrews and mice in the first, second, and third 5 min periods. Thus, social behaviors in tree shrews and mice appeared to be time dependent. In summary,our study provides results of a modified social preference-avoidance test designed for the assessment of social behavior in tree shrews. Our findings demonstrate the existence of social avoidance behavior in male tree shrews and prosocial behavior in male mice toward unfamiliar conspecifics. The tree shrew may be a new animal model, which differs from mice, for the study of social avoidance and prosocial behaviors.

关 键 词：Social avoidance behavior Prosocial behavior Open-field test Social preference-avoidance test Social interaction 

分 类 号：Q958[生物学—动物学]