Dataset Information

A novel operant task to assess social reward and motivation in rodents.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Social reward plays a critical role in the development of beneficial social relationships, and disorders of the mechanisms controlling social reward are involved in the etiology of many psychiatric diseases. NEW METHOD:We present a novel operant social preference task to quantify social reward in rodents using an apparatus with three chambers separated by one-way vertical-swing doors. The experimental animal is placed in the larger chamber while the two smaller chambers either remain empty or contain a stimulus animal or other potential reward stimulus. Adding weights to the door can alter effort required for rewards. RESULTS:Hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) entered the chamber containing a stimulus hamster significantly more frequently than an empty chamber. When the reinforcing effects of social interactions were compared to food reward under progressive cost requirements, the reinforcing effects of social interaction and sunflower seeds were similar. Progressively increasing the door weight decreased number of entries, but increased time spent attempting to open the doors. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS:The quantification of the rewarding properties of social interactions has almost exclusively used the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. Although robust and reliable, CPP includes a memory component, because it relies on the association of place with the social interaction while the operant task presented here does not. CONCLUSIONS:This task allows for detailed and direct assessment of social and non-social rewards that may serve as effective behavioral reinforcers in this operant conditioning model, and it can be used to investigate the neural mechanisms regulating motivation.

SUBMITTER: Borland JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7093839 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A novel operant task to assess social reward and motivation in rodents.

Borland Johnathan M JM Frantz Kyle J KJ Aiani Lauren M LM Grantham Kymberly N KN Song Zhimin Z Albers H Elliott HE

Journal of neuroscience methods 20170603

<h4>Background</h4>Social reward plays a critical role in the development of beneficial social relationships, and disorders of the mechanisms controlling social reward are involved in the etiology of many psychiatric diseases.<h4>New method</h4>We present a novel operant social preference task to quantify social reward in rodents using an apparatus with three chambers separated by one-way vertical-swing doors. The experimental animal is placed in the larger chamber while the two smaller chambers ...[more]

PMID: 28587895

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Project description:The recognition of novel objects is a common cognitive test for rodents, but current paradigms have limitations, such as low sensitivity, possible odor confounds and stress due to being performed outside of the homecage. We have developed a paradigm that takes place in the homecage and utilizes four stimuli per trial, to increase sensitivity. Odor confounds are eliminated because stimuli consist of inexpensive, machined wooden beads purchased in bulk, so each experimental animal has its own set of stimuli. This paradigm consists of three steps. In Step 1, the sampling phase, animals freely explore familiar objects (FO). Novel Objects (NO1 and NO2) are soiled with bedding from the homecage, to acquire odor cues identical to those of the FO. Steps 2 and 3 are test phases. Herein we report results of this paradigm from neurologically intact adult rats and mice of both sexes. Identical procedures were used for both species, except that the stimuli used for the mice were smaller. As expected in Step 2 (NO1 test phase), male and female rats and mice explored NO1 significantly more than FO. In Step 3 (NO2 test phase), rats of both sexes demonstrated a preference for NO2, while this was seen only in female mice. These results indicate robust novelty recognition during Steps 2 and 3 in rats. In mice, this was reliably seen only in Step 2, indicating that Step 3 was difficult for them under the given parameters. This paradigm provides flexibility in that length of the sampling phase, and the delay between test and sampling phases can be adjusted, to tailor task difficulty to the model being tested. In sum, this novel object recognition test is simple to perform, requires no expensive supplies or equipment, is conducted in the homecage (reducing stress), eliminates odor confounds, utilizes 4 stimuli to increase sensitivity, can be performed in both rats and mice, and is highly flexible, as sampling phase and the delay between steps can be adjusted to tailor task difficulty. Collectively, these results indicate that this paradigm can be used to quantify novel object recognition across sex and species.

Dataset Information

A novel operant task to assess social reward and motivation in rodents.

Publications

A novel operant task to assess social reward and motivation in rodents.

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