The SocioBox: A Novel Paradigm to Assess Complex Social Recognition in Male Mice

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Science
• Animal Models

Background:

• Social skill impairments are key features of mental diseases.
• Assessing social behaviors in mouse models is crucial for understanding these conditions.
• Existing methods may lack sensitivity for nuanced social recognition deficits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the SocioBox, a new behavioral paradigm designed to measure social recognition in mice.
• To evaluate the performance of the SocioBox in wildtype mice of different strains and genders.
• To demonstrate the utility of the SocioBox in identifying social deficits in a disease model.

Main Methods:

• Development of the SocioBox, a behavioral arena for social interaction studies.
• Utilizing both zone-based and novel data-driven (heatmap) analysis tools.
• Testing male and female wildtype mice for social recognition.
• Assessing social recognition in male PSD-95 heterozygous knockout mice.

Main Results:

• Male wildtype mice effectively distinguished unfamiliar mice from acquainted ones.
• Female mice showed reduced locomotor activity and impaired social discrimination compared to males.
• The SocioBox, particularly with heatmap analysis, demonstrated higher sensitivity in detecting social deficits.
• PSD-95 heterozygous knockout mice exhibited social recognition deficits, validating the SocioBox's diagnostic capability.

Conclusions:

• The SocioBox is a sensitive and effective tool for assessing social recognition in mice.
• Gender-specific differences in social behavior and recognition were observed.
• The SocioBox can aid in the diagnosis of social deficits in mouse models relevant to psychiatric disorders.