Abstract
A new automated device that concurrently records social investigatory responses and spontaneous motor activity is described and the effects of d-amphetamine are presented. The rectangular Plexiglas apparatus was divided into three compartments, separated from each other by wire mesh screens. A male mouse was placed into the center compartment and the amount of time spent investigating the two adjacent stimulus comartments was recorded using contact circuits. One stimulus compartment housed a female conspecific, while the other remained uninhabited and served as a control for nonsocial investigatory responses. A photocell bisected the center compartment and recorded motor activity. Doses of 0, 0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 mg/kg d-amphetamine administered to both sexually naive and sexually experienced male mice resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in investigation of both stimulus chambers, however social investigation was significantly affected at a lower dose. Both groups of males preferred the female to the uninhabited chamber at all but the highest dose of d-amphetamine, which abolished the preference. Locomotor activity for both inexperienced and experienced males increased with increasing doses of d-amphetamine.
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Landauer, M.R., Balster, R.L. A new test for social investigation in mice: Effects of d-amphetamine. Psychopharmacology 78, 322–325 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00433734
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00433734