Social Discrimination Test
Objective: Assessment of the ability to distinguish a previously exposed juvenile from a novel one in rats
Gather these items before starting the experiment. Check off items as you prepare.
Equipment1
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Materials5
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Software1
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Protocol Steps
Surgical implantation of osmotic minipumps
Implant osmotic minipumps containing antisense oligodeoxynucleotide, scrambled-sequence oligo, or vehicle into the septum of male rats
Note: Three treatment groups: antisense, scrambled-sequence control, and vehicle control
View evidence from paper
“infused an antisense oligodeoxynucleotide to the V1 subtype mRNA into the septum of male rats with osmotic minipumps”
Chronic infusion period
Allow chronic antisense administration to proceed for up to 4 days
Note: Behavioral testing occurs during this period
View evidence from paper
“chronic antisense administration for up to 4 d diminished the ability of the animals to distinguish a previously exposed juvenile from a novel one”
Social discrimination test - exposure phase
Expose test rat to a previously encountered juvenile rat to establish familiarity
Note: This juvenile becomes the 'familiar' stimulus animal
View evidence from paper
“ability of the animals to distinguish a previously exposed juvenile from a novel one”
Social discrimination test - discrimination phase
Present test rat with both the previously exposed (familiar) juvenile and a novel juvenile rat simultaneously or sequentially to assess discrimination ability
Note: Measure ability to distinguish between familiar and novel juveniles
View evidence from paper
“ability of the animals to distinguish a previously exposed juvenile from a novel one”
Exogenous AVP administration
Administer exogenous vasopressin intracerebroventricularly to assess response to AVP treatment
Note: Dose: 1 ng/5 microliters; measure if AVP improves social memory
View evidence from paper
“respond to exogenous AVP (1 ng/5 microliters, intracerebroventricular) with an improved social memory”
Anxiety-related behavior assessment
Measure anxiety-related behavior in treated and control animals
Note: Antisense treatment resulted in reduced anxiety-related behavior
View evidence from paper
“anxiety-related behavior was reduced”
Receptor autoradiography
Perform receptor autoradiography using radiolabeled AVP to measure V1 receptor binding in septum and other limbic brain areas
Note: Conducted on behaviorally tested rats; measures binding in septum and other limbic regions
View evidence from paper
“As measured in the behaviorally tested rats, antisense treatment resulted in a reduced binding of radiolabeled AVP in the septum, but not in other limbic brain areas (receptor autoradiography)”
Reverse transcriptase PCR analysis
Perform reverse transcriptase PCR to measure V1 receptor mRNA levels in treated animals
Note: Antisense treatment resulted in increased V1 receptor mRNA, indicating translational arrest
View evidence from paper
“increased amount of V1 receptor mRNA (reverse transcriptase PCR), indicating translational arrest and ongoing transcriptional activity”