J 2022

Social housing promotes cognitive function and reduces anxiety and depressive-like behaviours in rats

NÁDENÍČEK, Jaroslav, Eva VOSLAROVA, Veronika VOJTKOVSKA, Zoran TODOROVIC, Vladimir VECEREK et. al.

Basic information

Original name

Social housing promotes cognitive function and reduces anxiety and depressive-like behaviours in rats

Authors

NÁDENÍČEK, Jaroslav (203 Czech Republic, belonging to the institution), Eva VOSLAROVA (203 Czech Republic, guarantor), Veronika VOJTKOVSKA (203 Czech Republic), Zoran TODOROVIC and Vladimir VECEREK (203 Czech Republic)

Edition

Acta veterinaria (Brno), Brno, VETERINARNI A FARMACEUTICKA UNIVERZITA BRNO, 2022, 0001-7213

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

30105 Physiology

Country of publisher

Czech Republic

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

Impact factor

Impact factor: 0.600

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14110/22:00128271

Organization unit

Faculty of Medicine

DOI

UT WoS

000880783400010

Keywords in English

Isolation; pair housing; laboratory rodents; behavioural tests

Tags

Tags

International impact, Reviewed
Změněno: 25/1/2023 12:50, Mgr. Tereza Miškechová

Abstract

V originále

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of social isolation of rats in the post-weaning period using behavioural tests aimed at assessing cognitive function, anxiety, and depressive -like behaviours. The monitoring was performed in male Wistar rats which were housed after weaning either individually (n = 8) or in pairs (n = 8) for 33 days. In the open field, rats kept in isolation reared less often (P < 0.05) than pair-housed rats. In the elevated plus-maze test, pair-housed rats entered the open arm more frequently (P = 0.002) and stayed in the closed arm less often (P = 0.019) compared to rats housed in isolation. In the forced swim test, climbing was seen more frequently (P = 0.016) in pair-housed rats whereas immobility was more common (P = 0.006) in rats housed individually. In the novel object recognition test, the pair-housed rats preferred (P = 0.014) the novel object whereas there was no difference (P = 0.107) in time spent by exploring familiar and novel objects in rats housed in isolation. Furthermore, juvenile rats housed for 33 days in isolation showed higher (P = 0.003) body weight gain during the monitored period than rats housed for the same period in pairs. Our findings are important not only in terms of assessing the impact of rat housing on their mental and physical development but also in terms of the accurate interpretation of the results of other experiments where the rat is used as a model organism.