Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 7;12(1):9361. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-13288-w.
Stable inter-individual differences in behaviour and personality have been studied for several decades now. The aim of this study was to test the repeatability of behaviour of the Long Evans strain of laboratory rats in order to assess their inter-individual differences. Male laboratory rats (n = 36) were tested in a series of tasks (Open field test, Elevated plus maze test, and modified T-maze test) repeated over time to assess their personality traits. To evaluate the temporal stability of the behaviour, we calculated repeatability estimates of the examined traits. We also checked for a link in behavioural traits across these experiments, which would suggest the existence of a behavioural syndrome. We found stable inter-individual differences in behaviour. Interestingly, no link emerged between the tasks we studied and therefore we did not find support for a behavioural syndrome. The lack of behavioural correlations between these experiments suggests that the results derived from these tasks should be interpreted carefully, as these experiments may measure various behavioural axes. Moreover, the animals habituate to the apparatus. Consequently, behaviour in the Open field test and Elevated plus maze test is not fully consistent and repeatable across subsequent trials.
稳定的个体间行为和个性差异已经研究了几十年。本研究的目的是测试实验室长耳大仓鼠(Long Evans strain)行为的可重复性，以评估它们的个体间差异。雄性实验室大鼠(n=36)在一系列任务(旷场试验、高架十字迷宫试验和改良 T 迷宫试验)中进行测试，这些任务随着时间的推移重复进行，以评估它们的个性特征。为了评估行为的时间稳定性，我们计算了所研究特征的可重复性估计值。我们还检查了这些实验中行为特征之间的联系，这表明存在行为综合征。我们发现行为存在稳定的个体间差异。有趣的是，我们没有发现所研究的任务之间存在联系，因此我们没有发现行为综合征的证据。这些实验之间缺乏行为相关性表明，应该谨慎解释从这些任务中得出的结果，因为这些实验可能测量各种行为轴。此外，动物对仪器逐渐习惯。因此，在随后的试验中，旷场试验和高架十字迷宫试验中的行为并不完全一致和可重复。
