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Updated: Jun 21, 2025
Assessment of Social Interaction Behaviors
Published on: February 25, 2011
The mouse Social Frailty Index (mSFI): a novel behavioral assessment for impaired social functioning in aging mice
Charles W Collinge1, Maria Razzoli1, Rachel Mansk1
1Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Abstract:
Various approaches exist to quantify the aging process and estimate biological age on an individual level. Frailty indices based on an age-related accumulation of physical deficits have been developed for human use and translated into mouse models. However, declines observed in aging are not limited to physical functioning but also involve social capabilities. The concept of "social frailty" has been recently introduced into human literature, but no index of social frailty exists for laboratory mice yet. To fill this gap, we developed a mouse Social Frailty Index (mSFI) consisting of seven distinct assays designed to quantify social functioning which is relatively simple to execute and is minimally invasive. Application of the mSFI in group-housed male C57BL/6 mice demonstrated a progressively elevated levels of social frailty through the lifespan. Conversely, group-housed females C57BL/6 mice manifested social frailty only at a very old age. Female mice also showed significantly lower mSFI score from 10 months of age onward when compared to males. We also applied the mSFI in male C57BL/6 mice under chronic subordination stress and in chronic isolation, both of which induced larger increases in social frailty compared to age-matched group-housed males. Lastly, we show that the mSFI is enhanced in mouse models that show accelerated biological aging such as progeroid Ercc1-/Δ and Xpg-/- mice of both sexes compared to age matched littermate wild types. In summary, the mSFI represents a novel index to quantify trajectories of biological aging in mice and may help elucidate links between impaired social behavior and the aging process.
Insights
Researchers developed a mouse Social Frailty Index (mSFI) to measure social functioning decline during aging. The mSFI revealed sex differences in social frailty and its exacerbation by stress and genetic aging models.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Animal Behavior
- Biomedical Research
Background:
- Aging affects physical and social capabilities, with social frailty recognized in humans.
- Existing frailty indices in mice focus on physical deficits, lacking a measure for social functioning.
- No standardized index exists to quantify social frailty in laboratory mice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a mouse Social Frailty Index (mSFI) for assessing social functioning.
- To investigate age-related changes in social frailty in male and female mice.
- To examine the impact of stress and genetic models on social frailty.
Main Methods:
- Development of the mouse Social Frailty Index (mSFI) using seven minimally invasive assays.
- Application of mSFI in group-housed male and female C57BL/6 mice across the lifespan.
- Assessment of mSFI in mice under chronic subordination stress, isolation, and in progeroid models (Ercc1-/Δ, Xpg-/-).
Main Results:
- mSFI scores increased with age in male mice, but only in very old females.
- Female mice exhibited lower mSFI scores than males from 10 months onward.
- Stress and isolation significantly increased mSFI scores; progeroid models showed elevated social frailty.
Conclusions:
- The mSFI is a novel, practical tool for quantifying social aging trajectories in mice.
- The index highlights sex-specific patterns of social frailty and its modulation by environmental and genetic factors.
- mSFI can aid research into the relationship between social behavior impairment and the aging process.
