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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Social Isolation Model: A Noninvasive Rodent Model of Stress and Anxiety
Published on: November 11, 2022
Play deprivation without social isolation: housing controls
Kevin S Holloway1, Robert B Suter
1Department of Psychology, Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, USA. keholloway@vassar.edu
Abstract:
Three experiments were conducted to control for the effects of housing conditions during play deprivation on subsequent play rebound in periadolescent rats. To address play deprivation without the confound of social isolation, in Experiment 1, pairs of subjects were housed either in cages divided by wire mesh that allowed for olfactory, visual, auditory, and tactile interactions with a same-sex age-mate but prevented rough and tumble play or in standard cages. Running wheels were provided to similarly housed subjects in Experiment 2 to control for the ability to engage in physical activity. In Experiment 3, standard and brooder cages were used to control for the effects of housing area. Play-deprived subjects in all conditions showed a greatly increased number of play responses immediately following deprivation. The results from these experiments more clearly indicate that the absence of play is the crucial feature that brings about play rebound following deprivation.
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