Karlsson Sara A, Haziri Kaltrina, Hansson Evelyn, Kettunen Petronella, Westberg Lars
Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
BMC Neurosci. 2015 Nov 25;16:83. doi: 10.1186/s12868-015-0221-z.
An individual's ability to recognise and pay attention to others is crucial in order to behave appropriately in various social situations. Studies in humans have shown a sex bias in sociability as well as social memory, indicating that females have better face memory and gaze more at the eyes of others, but information about the factors that underpin these differences is sparse. Our aim was therefore to investigate if sociability and social recognition differ between female and male mice, and if so, to what extent gonadal hormones may be involved. Intact and gonadectomised male and female mice were assessed for sociability and social recognition using the three-chambered sociability paradigm, as well as the social discrimination test. Furthermore, we conducted a novel object recognition test, a locomotor activity test and an odour habituation/dishabituation test.
The present study showed that the ability to recognise other individuals is intact in males with and without gonads, as well as in intact females, whereas it is hampered in gonadectomised females. Additionally, intact male mice displayed more persistent investigatory behaviour compared to the other groups, although the intact females showed elevated basal locomotor activity. In addition, all groups had intact object memory and habituated to odours.
Our results suggest that intact male mice investigate conspecifics more than females do, and these differences seem to depend upon circulating hormones released from the testis. As these results seem to contrast what is known from human studies, they should be taken into consideration when using the three-chambered apparatus, and similar paradigms as animal models of social deficits in e.g. autism. Other behavioural tests, and animal models, may be more suitable for translational studies between patients and experimental animals.
个体识别并关注他人的能力对于在各种社交场合中做出恰当行为至关重要。对人类的研究表明，在社交能力以及社会记忆方面存在性别差异，这表明女性具有更好的面部记忆，并且更多地注视他人的眼睛，但关于这些差异背后因素的信息却很稀少。因此，我们的目的是研究雌性和雄性小鼠在社交能力和社会识别方面是否存在差异，如果存在差异，性腺激素可能在多大程度上参与其中。使用三室社交范式以及社会辨别测试，对完整和去势的雄性和雌性小鼠进行社交能力和社会识别评估。此外，我们还进行了新物体识别测试、运动活动测试和气味习惯化/去习惯化测试。
本研究表明，有性腺和无性腺的雄性以及完整的雌性小鼠识别其他个体的能力均正常，而去势的雌性小鼠的这种能力则受到损害。此外，完整的雄性小鼠与其他组相比表现出更持久的探究行为，尽管完整的雌性小鼠表现出较高的基础运动活性。另外，所有组的物体记忆均正常，并且对气味产生了习惯化。
我们的结果表明，完整的雄性小鼠比雌性小鼠更频繁地探究同种个体，这些差异似乎取决于睾丸释放的循环激素。由于这些结果似乎与人类研究的结果相反，因此在使用三室装置以及类似范式作为例如自闭症等社会缺陷的动物模型时，应考虑这些结果。其他行为测试和动物模型可能更适合患者与实验动物之间的转化研究。
