Protocol for evaluating mutualistic cooperative behavior in mice using a water-reward task assay
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Updated: Jun 28, 2025
Assessment of Social Interaction Behaviors
Published on: February 25, 2011
Weixi Feng1, Yanli Zhang2, Ze Wang3
1Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China; Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
Abstract:
Social cooperation is fundamentally important for group animals but rarely studied in mice because of their natural aggressiveness. Here, we present a new water-reward assay to investigate mutualistic cooperative behavior in mice. We describe the construction of the apparatus and provide details of the procedures and analysis for investigators to characterize and quantify the mutualistic cooperative behavior. This protocol has been validated in mice and can be used for investigating mechanisms of cooperation. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Zhang et al. and Wang et al.1,2.
