The preputial gland as an indicator of social dominance in male mice

1973 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 625-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.H. Bronson ◽  
H.M. Marsden
2000 ◽  
Vol 71 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 415-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachiko Koyama ◽  
Shinji Kamimura

IBRO Reports ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. S203
Author(s):  
Songjun Li ◽  
Leah Strahs ◽  
Lance Johnson ◽  
Ziv Williams

Behaviour ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 134 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 989-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Cowan ◽  
L.M. Gosling ◽  
J. Hudson ◽  
S.A. Collins

AbstractTo investigate whether behaviour in the litter predicted later dominance status, male mice were observed whilst within their litters from three weeks old, and when paired with an unrelated male as an adult. We found that males that were dominant in their litter were not more likely to become dominant as an adult. The best predictor of adult dominance status was the relative scent marking rate when with littermates, males that marked more than their adult partner were more likely to become dominant. The high scent mark rate of dominant males may be the cause not the consequence of dominance, they scent mark at a higher rate before becoming dominant. It was also shown that there are strong family resemblances for scent mark rate, body weight and most urogenital gland weights. This indicates that scent mark rate and urogenital gland weights may be determined genetically, or partly determined by parental effects. As found in previous work the preputial gland was heavier in dominant males than subordinates. Furthermore, dominant males were lighter than subordinates at the end of the experiment indicating that there may be a cost to maintaining dominance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 201985
Author(s):  
Yuri Robbers ◽  
Mayke M. H. Tersteeg ◽  
Johanna H. Meijer ◽  
Claudia P. Coomans

In this study, we investigated the effect of social environment on circadian patterns in activity by group housing either six male or six female mice together in a cage, under regular light–dark cycles. Based on the interactions among the animals, the social dominance rank of individual mice was quantitatively established by calculating Elo ratings. Our results indicated that, during our experiment, the social dominance hierarchy was rapidly established, stable yet complex, often showing more than one dominant mouse and several subordinate mice. Moreover, we found that especially dominant male mice, but not female mice, displayed a significantly higher fraction of their activity during daytime. This resulted in reduced rhythm amplitude in dominant males. After division into separate cages, male mice showed an enhancement of their 24 h rhythm, due to lower daytime activity. Recordings of several physiological parameters showed no evidence for reduced health as a potential consequence of reduced rhythm amplitude. For female mice, transfer to individual housing did not affect their daily activity pattern. We conclude that 24 h rhythms under light–dark cycles are influenced by the social environment in males but not in females, and lead to a decrement in behavioural rhythm amplitude that is larger in dominant mice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy K. Bicks ◽  
Michelle Peng ◽  
Alana Taub ◽  
Schahram Akbarian ◽  
Hirofumi Morishita

Social dominance hierarchies are a common adaptation to group living and exist across a broad range of the animal kingdom. Social dominance is known to rely on the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a brain region that shows a protracted developmental trajectory in mice. However, it is unknown to what extent the social dominance hierarchy is plastic across postnatal development and how it is regulated. Here we identified a sensitive period for experience-dependent social dominance plasticity in adolescent male mice, which is regulated by mechanisms that affect cortical plasticity. We show that social dominance hierarchies in male mice are already formed at weaning and are highly stable into adulthood. However, one experience of forced losing significantly reduces social dominance during the adolescent period but not in adulthood, suggesting adolescence as a sensitive period for experience-dependent social dominance plasticity. Notably, robust adolescent plasticity can be prolonged into adulthood by genetic deletion of Lynx1, a molecular brake that normally limits cortical plasticity through modulation of cortical nicotinic signaling. This plasticity is associated with increased activation of established nodes of the social dominance network including dorsal medial PFC and medial dorsal thalamus evidenced by increased c-Fos. Pharmacologically mediated elevation of cortical plasticity by valproic acid rapidly destabilizes the hierarchy of adult wildtype animals. These findings provide insight into mechanisms through which increased behavioral plasticity may be achieved to improve therapeutic recovery from psychiatric disorders that are associated with social deficits.


1995 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mao Tanabe ◽  
Takeji Kimura
Keyword(s):  

1992 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.A. van de Weerd ◽  
F.A.R. van den Broek ◽  
A.C. Beynen
Keyword(s):  

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