Title
Effects of Pre-pubertal Social Experiences on the Responsiveness of Juvenile Rats to Predator Odors
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2008
Department 1
Psychology
Abstract
The extent to which social variables may modulate the fear associated with a predator cue was assessed in juvenile rats. Cat odor reduced play to a comparable extent in both socially housed and isolate-housed rats, although socially housed rats exhibited more risk assessment during extinction. Rats that had played previously in the context used for assessing fear hid slightly less when exposed to cat odor than those rats that had not played previously in the testing context. However, no other differences were found between these two groups suggesting that prior social experience with the testing context has minimal effects on fear. In a direct test of a 'social buffering' hypothesis, rats that were tested for contextual fear conditioning in the presence of an unfamiliar partner were less fearful than those rats tested alone. These data are consistent with a social buffering hypothesis and suggest that positive social cues may help animals cope with the threat of predation.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
DOI
10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.05.004
Recommended Citation
Siviy, Stephen M. Effects of Pre-pubertal Social Experiences on the Responsiveness of Juvenile Rats to Predator Odors. Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews. 2008 Sept;32(7):1249-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.05.004
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