Abstract
Social comparison is a fundamental human characteristic; however, long-term social comparison may induce psychological stress and can lead to depression and anxiety. Recent studies have shown that nonhuman primates compare themselves with others; however, no studies have investigated whether social comparisons exist among rodents. In the present study, we established a rat model of social comparison. This model was subsequently used to examine the effects of the differential environment of a partner on depression- and anxiety-like behaviors in male rats, as well as to assess the changes in serum, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and dorsal hippocampus brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels induced by long-term social comparison. Compared to rats whose partners were exposed to the same environment, rats whose partners were exposed to two combined enriched environmental stimuli for 14 days showed significantly decreased social novelty preference and sucrose consumption. No anxiety-like behaviors were observed. Rats whose partners were exposed to one enriched environment for 31 days showed significantly increased immobility time in the forced swimming test, and significantly decreased time spent in the center area in the open-field test. Further, rats whose partners were exposed to one enriched environment for 31 days showed lower BDNF levels in the mPFC and dorsal hippocampus, but not following partner exposure for 14 days. These results suggest that social comparisons exist in rats and can induce psychosocial stress and other negative affect. This model will not only provide the possibility to reveal the neurobiological basis of the emotional impact of social comparison, but could also be used to confirm the conservative evolutionary characteristics of social comparison as a behavioral attribute.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Shuang Wu for her contribution to the acquisition of behavior data. This work was supported by the Chinese National Programs for Brain Science and Brain-like Intelligence Technology (2021ZD0202104 to YHL), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31871111 to JJZ), Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2020088 to JJZ), and Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, CAS. We greatly appreciate the excellent work of the technical support staff at the Institutional Center for Shared Technologies and Facilities of Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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BX and JJZ were responsible for the study concept and design. BX, YYM, and JYZ contributed to the acquisition of animal data. BX and JJZ assisted with data analysis and interpretation of findings. BX and JJZ drafted the manuscript. YYM, YM, YHL, FS, and JL provided critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors critically reviewed the content and approved the final version for publication.
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All experimental procedures were carried out according to the guideline provided by the Regulation for the Administration of Affairs Concerning Experimental Animals (China, 1988). All protocols were approved by the Research Ethics Review Board of the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (A22078).
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Xue, B., Ma, YY., Zhu, JY. et al. Chronic social comparison elicits depression- and anxiety-like behaviors and alterations in brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in male rats. Anim Cogn 26, 1505–1519 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-023-01798-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-023-01798-7