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Updated: Jun 10, 2026
Social Defeat Stress Model for Adolescent C57BL/6 Male and Female Mice
Published on: March 15, 2024
Peri-adolescence isolation rearing alters social behavior and nociception in rats
Qingxuan Meng1, Nanxin Li, Xiao Han
1Department of Psychology, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China.
Insights
Peri-adolescent isolation rearing in rats causes lasting behavioral changes, including reduced pain sensitivity. Re-socialization can restore some, but not all, of these social isolation-induced abnormalities.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Animal Models
Background:
- Social isolation in rodents models neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia.
- The most vulnerable developmental stage to social isolation remains largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of peri-adolescent isolation rearing (PAIR) on rat behavior.
- To determine if re-socialization can reverse isolation-induced behavioral changes.
Main Methods:
- Weaning rats underwent four weeks of peri-adolescent isolation rearing (PAIR).
- Following isolation, rats were socially housed for four weeks until adulthood.
- Behavioral assessments included open field locomotion, social interaction, and pain sensitivity.
Main Results:
- PAIR rats exhibited hyperactivity in novel environments and an anxiogenic-like profile.
- Increased aggression and social interaction were observed in PAIR rats.
- Reduced pain sensitivity persisted even after re-socialization.
Conclusions:
- Peri-adolescent isolation rearing is a valuable model for studying neurodevelopmental effects on behavior.
- Re-socialization can partially reverse behavioral abnormalities induced by early-life social isolation.
- Social isolation during peri-adolescence leads to long-lasting alterations in pain sensitivity.
Abstract:
Social isolation results in fundamental behavioral abnormalities in rodents which models certain neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. However, the developmental stage that is most vulnerable to social isolation is largely unknown. In the present study, we subjected weaning rats to a four-week peri-adolescence isolation rearing (PAIR) and then returned them to social rearing for an additional four weeks until adulthood. Open field locomotion, social interaction behavior, and acute pain sensitivity were examined at different time points. PAIR rats showed moderate hyperactivity towards a novel environment, an anxiogenic-like behavioral profile, and increased aggression and social interaction behavior, the last three of which could be restored by re-socialization procedure. In addition, PAIR animals showed significantly reduced pain sensitivity even after the re-socialization period. In summary, this study advances the use of peri-adolescent isolation rearing as an animal model to study neurodevelopmental manipulation induced behavioral abnormalities.
