Studies of nest building behavior in social stress model of mouse

Abstract

Social stress among individual animals increases a variety of health risks. Using mice as an experimental model, we found that social stress in mice causes a delay in nest-building behavior. In order to use an evaluation system for depression-like symptoms based on this delayed nest-building phenomenon, we developed a simple psychotropic drug screening method and evaluated its validity. We also performed an objective and detailed behavioral analysis of socially defeated mice using an infrared depth sensor. The results showed that the delay in nesting gradually recovered after the initial dark period, with increased spontaneous activity and decreased rearing behavior. In addition, there was a tendency for a positive correlation between delayed nesting and social avoidance behavior. These studies have the potential to elucidate basic mechanisms in stress studies, and abnormal behavior detection using an infrared depth sensor is expected to be applied to livestock animals.