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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Behav. Neurosci.
Sec. Individual and Social Behaviors
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1519486
This article is part of the Research Topic Ethological neuroscience View all 5 articles

Novel Automated Method to Assess Group Dynamics Reveals Deficits in Behavioral Contagion in Rats with Social Deficits

Provisionally accepted
K S Smirnov K S Smirnov 1I Starkov I Starkov 2Olga V Sysoeva Olga V Sysoeva 1,3Inna S Midzyanovskaya Inna S Midzyanovskaya 1*
  • 1 Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology (RAS), Moscow, Russia
  • 2 National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia
  • 3 Sirius Center for Cognitive Sciences, Sirius University, Sochi, Russia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Behavioral copying is a key process in group actions, but it is challenging for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We investigated behavioral contagion, or instinctual replication of behaviors, in Krushinky-Molodkina (KM) rats (n=16), a new potential rodent model for ASD, compared to control Wistar rats (n=15). A randomly chosen healthy Wistar male ("demonstrator rat") was introduced to the homecage of experimental rats ("observers") 10-14 days before the experiments to become a member of the group. For the implementation of the behavioral contagion experiment, we used the IntelliCage system, where rats can live in a group of 5-6 rats and their water visits can be automatically scored. During the experiment, the demonstrator was taken out of IntelliCage for a pre-test water deprivation and then placed back for the behavioral contagion test. As a result, a drinking behavior of the water-deprived demonstrator rat prompted water-seeking and drinking behaviors in the whole group. Unlike the Wistar controls, KM observers showed fewer visits to the drinking bottles, particularly lacking inspection visits (i.e, visits without drinking). The control group, in contrast, exhibited a dynamic, cascade-like visiting of the water corners. The proportion of activated observers in KM rats was significantly lower, as compared to Wistar ones, and they did not mimic other observer rats. KM rats, therefore, displayed an attenuated pattern of behavioral contagion, highlighting social deficits in this strain. This study suggests that measuring group dynamics of behavioral contagion in an automated, non-invasive setup offers valuable insights into social behavior in rodents.

    Keywords: automated behavioral testing, Intellicage, Behavioral contagion, Social deficit, rat, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Group behavior

    Received: 30 Oct 2024; Accepted: 04 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Smirnov, Starkov, Sysoeva and Midzyanovskaya. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Inna S Midzyanovskaya, Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology (RAS), Moscow, Russia

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