scholarly journals Female C57BL/6J Mice Show Alcohol-Seeking Behaviour after Withdrawal from Prolonged Alcohol Consumption in the Social Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryna Koskela ◽  
T Petteri Piepponen ◽  
Jaan-Olle Andressoo ◽  
Vootele Võikar ◽  
Mikko Airavaara
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Alcohol Group ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
Intermittent Access ◽  
The Social ◽  
Number Of Visits ◽  
Alcohol Seeking

Abstract Aims Recently we developed a model to study alcohol-seeking behaviour after withdrawal in a social context in female mice. The model raised several questions that we were eager to address to improve methodology. Methods In our model, female mice were group-housed in automated cages with three conditioned (CS+) corners and water in both sides of one separate non-conditioned corner. Water was available with opened doors at all the time of training. We established conditioning by pairing alcohol drinking with light cues. Here, we introduced prolonged access to increasing concentrations of alcohol instead of intermittent access. To study motivation to drink alcohol, we carried out the extinction tests on withdrawal days 1 (WD1) and 10 (WD10). During tests, the light cues were present in conditioned corners, but there was no liquid in the bottles. Results We found that the number of visits and nosepokes in the CS+ corner in the alcohol group was much higher than in the water group. Also, during training, the consumption of alcohol was increasing. In the extinction tests, we found that the number of nosepokes in the CS+ corner increased in the alcohol group on both WD1 and WD10. Conclusions Our study supports that alcohol-seeking behaviour after withdrawal can be modelled and studied in group-housed animals and environments without social isolation.

scholarly journals Individual behavioural traits not social context affects learning about novel objects in archerfish

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick A. R. Jones ◽  
Helen C. Spence-Jones ◽  
Mike Webster ◽  
Luke Rendell
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Behavioural Phenotype ◽  
Social Species ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Animals ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Learning can enable rapid behavioural responses to changing conditions but can depend on the social context and behavioural phenotype of the individual. Learning rates have been linked to consistent individual differences in behavioural traits, especially in situations which require engaging with novelty, but the social environment can also play an important role. The presence of others can modulate the effects of individual behavioural traits and afford access to social information that can reduce the need for ‘risky’ asocial learning. Most studies of social effects on learning are focused on more social species; however, such factors can be important even for less-social animals, including non-grouping or facultatively social species which may still derive benefit from social conditions. Using archerfish, Toxotes chatareus, which exhibit high levels of intra-specific competition and do not show a strong preference for grouping, we explored the effect of social contexts on learning. Individually housed fish were assayed in an ‘open-field’ test and then trained to criterion in a task where fish learnt to shoot a novel cue for a food reward—with a conspecific neighbour visible either during training, outside of training or never (full, partial or no visible presence). Time to learn to shoot the novel cue differed across individuals but not across social context. This suggests that social context does not have a strong effect on learning in this non-obligatory social species; instead, it further highlights the importance that inter-individual variation in behavioural traits can have on learning. Significance statement Some individuals learn faster than others. Many factors can affect an animal’s learning rate—for example, its behavioural phenotype may make it more or less likely to engage with novel objects. The social environment can play a big role too—affecting learning directly and modifying the effects of an individual’s traits. Effects of social context on learning mostly come from highly social species, but recent research has focused on less-social animals. Archerfish display high intra-specific competition, and our study suggests that social context has no strong effect on their learning to shoot novel objects for rewards. Our results may have some relevance for social enrichment and welfare of this increasingly studied species, suggesting there are no negative effects of short- to medium-term isolation of this species—at least with regards to behavioural performance and learning tasks.

scholarly journals Challenging ‘ableism’ and teaching about disability in a social work classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Micheal Shier ◽  
Carole Sinclair ◽  
Lila Gault
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Training Module ◽  
Direct Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Work Programs ◽  
Work Education

Social work programs in Canada teach emerging generalist practitioners about the consequences of oppression in the lives of the clients they work with. More emphasis within social work education could be placed on practical ways of contextualizing forms of oppression as each relates specifically to practice. The following provides a description of the oppression of ‘ableism’, and offers an applied training module to help prepare generalist social workers (i.e. current students or direct practitioners) to work with issues of disability as they emerge in their direct practice with clients. The training module helps to facilitate learning specific to the leading theoretical discussions and the social context of disability within society. Through these discussions students might then become more aware of their role as practitioners in challenging the oppression of ‘ableism’, rather than maintain outdated modes of service delivery and intervention with those people disabled by the social environment.

The social environment compresses the diversity of genetic aberrations into the uniformity of schizophrenia manifestations

2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf-Peter Behrendt
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Genetic Aberrations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Active Contribution

Genetically and neurodevelopmentally, there may be a thousand schizophrenias, yet there would be no schizophrenia at all without active contribution from all of us; none – outside the primitive processes that regulate our relationship with one another. In order to understand the nature of schizophrenia as it unfolds relatively uniformly in the social context, we need to depart from an evolutionarily more feasible understanding of society.

Individuality and habits in institutional economics

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 791-809
Author(s):  
Heath Spong
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Structure Framework ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

AbstractIn this paper a sophisticated conception of individuality is developed that extends beyond simple heterogeneity and is consistent with the approach of institutional economics. Studies of human biological and psychological development are used to illustrate the foundations of human individuality and the impact of the social environment on individual development. The link between the social environment and ongoing agential properties is established through the role of habits, which provide some continuity to individual personalities over time and assist them in navigating the social context they inhabit. Reflexivity is established via an agency-structure framework that endows individuals a changeable self-concept and an ability to interpret their relationship to the social context. The coordination of different individuals is explained not simply through reference to institutional structure, but also through the agent-level properties of shared habits. While reducing differences between individuals to one of degrees, shared habits are shown to be particularly important in the context of agent-sensitive institutions. Finally, the potential for different institutional experiences to impact the reflexivity of individuals is explored.

scholarly journals Sex- and context-dependent effects of acute isolation on vocal and non-vocal social behaviors in mice

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0255640
Author(s):  
Xin Zhao ◽  
Patryk Ziobro ◽  
Nicole M. Pranic ◽  
Samantha Chu ◽  
Samantha Rabinovich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Brain And Behavior

Humans are extraordinarily social, and social isolation has profound effects on our behavior, ranging from increased social motivation following short periods of social isolation to increased anti-social behaviors following long-term social isolation. Mice are frequently used as a model to understand how social isolation impacts the brain and behavior. While the effects of chronic social isolation on mouse social behavior have been well studied, much less is known about how acute isolation impacts mouse social behavior and whether these effects vary according to the sex of the mouse and the behavioral context of the social encounter. To address these questions, we characterized the effects of acute (3-day) social isolation on the vocal and non-vocal social behaviors of male and female mice during same-sex and opposite-sex social interactions. Our experiments uncovered pronounced effects of acute isolation on social interactions between female mice, while revealing more subtle effects on the social behaviors of male mice during same-sex and opposite-sex interactions. Our findings advance the study of same-sex interactions between female mice as an attractive paradigm to investigate neural mechanisms through which acute isolation enhances social motivation and promotes social behavior.

scholarly journals Understanding Critical Information Literacy through Social Epistemology

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Martin I. Nord
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Epistemological Foundation ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
New Models

Critical theoretical approaches to information literacy are an important part of the growing LIS focus on the context of information. This concern for information’s social environment and the awareness of new models of interaction between learners and librarians open the possibility for using social epistemology to better understand information literacy. The concept of social epistemology—the study of the ways in which an individual’s knowledge is shaped by their interactions with the world around them—has long been part of epistemology. However, LIS theorists Margaret Egan and Jesse Shera, who coined the term, intended it to address librarianship specifically. This paper argues that social epistemology is well positioned to strengthen the critical practice of information literacy, based both on the social epistemological characteristics of critical theory and the information literacy aspects of the social epistemology stream in the field of philosophy. A review of the critical theoretical trend in LIS literature on information literacy reveals an already-present social epistemological foundation on which LIS research can build to expand the application of critical theory to information literacy. Placing this literature in conversation with itself illuminates the ways in which engagement with social epistemological concerns is already evolving. This paper then critiques the literature and highlights some concerns. Recognition of these weaknesses in otherwise valuable work alerts us to opportunities for improvement. This paper suggests that future progress will be tied to better understanding of the social context of knowledge.

Data Collection as a Journey

2021 ◽  
pp. 118-147
Author(s):  
Géraldine Bengsch
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Field Site ◽  
Secure Access ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Layered Approach ◽  
Phd Program

The journey approach for data collection may enable the novice researcher to reflect on their data collection processes, and it aims to point to potential creative solutions that can help create a coherent study deeply rooted in its social environment. Fieldwork becomes a part of the project, rather than an isolated element that needs to be done. Through this approach, even a novice researcher can demonstrate connected insights that are not only relevant to the study itself but also the subject of study. A creative, multi-layered approach to resources and created opportunities may help increase the feasibility of a study by reacting to and interacting with the social context of the field. This chapter reflects on the author's data collection progress during her PhD program and invites readers to discover actionable steps that can be used to overcome the inertia due to inability to secure access to a field site.

scholarly journals Group housing and social dominance hierarchy affect circadian activity patterns in mice

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 201985
Author(s):  
Yuri Robbers ◽  
Mayke M. H. Tersteeg ◽  
Johanna H. Meijer ◽  
Claudia P. Coomans
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Group Housing ◽  
Male Mice ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
The Social

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.

scholarly journals Individual, but not population asymmetries, are modulated by social environment and genotype in Drosophila melanogaster

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Versace ◽  
Matteo Caffini ◽  
Zach Werkhoven ◽  
Benjamin L. de Bivort
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Position And Orientation ◽  
Female Male Female

AbstractTheory predicts that social interactions can induce an alignment of behavioral asymmetries between individuals (i.e., population-level lateralization), but evidence for this effect is mixed. To understand how interaction with other individuals affects behavioral asymmetries, we systematically manipulated the social environment of Drosophila melanogaster, testing individual flies and dyads (female-male, female-female and male-male pairs). In these social contexts we measured individual and population asymmetries in individual behaviors (circling asymmetry, wing use) and dyadic behaviors (relative position and orientation between two flies) in five different genotypes. We reasoned that if coordination between individuals drives alignment of behavioral asymmetries, greater alignment at the population-level should be observed in social contexts compared to solitary individuals. We observed that the presence of other individuals influenced the behavior and position of flies but had unexpected effects with respect to individual and population asymmetries: individual-level asymmetries were strong and modulated by the social context but population-level asymmetries were mild or absent. Moreover, the strength of individual-level asymmetries differed between strains, but this was not the case for population-level asymmetries. These findings suggest that the degree of social interaction found in Drosophila is insufficient to drive population-level behavioral asymmetries.

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