Nancy B. Young

Mouse models of social dysfunction, designed to investigate the complex genetics of social behaviors, require an objective methodology for scoring social interactions relevant to human disease symptoms. Here we describe an automated, three chambered apparatus designed to monitor social interaction in the mouse. Time spent in each chamber and the number of entries are scored automatically by a system detecting photocell beam breaks. When tested with the automated equipment, juvenile male C57BL/6J mice spent more time in a chamber containing a stranger mouse than in an empty chamber (sociability), similar to results obtained by the observer scored method. In addition, automated scoring detected a preference to spend more time with an unfamiliar stranger than a more familiar conspecific (preference for social novelty), similar to results obtained by the observer scored method. Sniffing directed at the wire cage containing the stranger mouse correlated significantly with time spent in that chamber, indicating that duration in a chamber represents true social approach behavior. Number of entries between chambers did not correlate with duration of time spent in the chambers; entries instead proved a useful control measure of general activity. The most significant social approach behavior took place in the first five minutes of both the sociability and preference for social novelty tests. Application of these methods to C57BL/6J, DBA/2J and FVB/NJ adult males revealed that all three strains displayed tendencies for sociability and preference for social novelty. To evaluate the importance of the strain of the stranger mouse on sociability and preference for social novelty, C57BL/6J subject mice were tested either with A/J strangers or with C57BL/6J strangers. Sociability and preference for social novelty were similar with both stranger strains. The automated equipment provides an accurate and objective approach to measuring social tendencies in mice. Its use may allow higher-throughput scoring of mouse social behaviors in mouse models of social dysfunction.

Profound impairment in social interaction is a core symptom of autism, a severe neurodevelopmental disorder. Deficits can include a lack of interest in social contact and low levels of approach and proximity to other children. In this study, a three-chambered choice task was used to evaluate sociability and social novelty preference in five lines of mice with mutations in genes implicated in autism spectrum disorders. Fmr1(tm1Cgr/Y)(Fmr1(-/y)) mice represent a model for fragile X, a mental retardation syndrome that is partially comorbid with autism. We tested Fmr1(-/y)mice on two genetic backgrounds, C57BL/6J and FVB/N-129/OlaHsd (FVB/129). Targeted disruption of Fmr1 resulted in low sociability on one measure, but only when the mutation was expressed on FVB/129. Autism has been associated with altered serotonin levels and polymorphisms in SLC6A4 (SERT), the serotonin transporter gene. Male mice with targeted disruption of Slc6a4 displayed significantly less sociability than wild-type controls. Mice with conditional overexpression of Igf-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) offered a model for brain overgrowth associated with autism. Igf-1 transgenic mice engaged in levels of social approach similar to wild-type controls. Targeted disruption in other genes of interest, En2 (engrailed-2) and Dhcr7, was carried on genetic backgrounds that showed low levels of exploration in the choice task, precluding meaningful interpretations of social behavior scores. Overall, results show that loss of Fmr1 or Slc6a4 gene function can lead to deficits in sociability. Findings from the fragile X model suggest that the FVB/129 background confers enhanced susceptibility to consequences of Fmr1 mutation on social approach.