Play partner preferences among groups of unfamiliar juvenile male rats

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dc.contributor.authorHam, Jackson R.
dc.contributor.authorPellis, Sergio
dc.date.accessioned2025-10-22T19:00:17Z
dc.date.available2025-10-22T19:00:17Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.descriptionOpen access article. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0) applies
dc.description.abstractLike many mammals, as juveniles, rats engage in play fighting, which in the laboratory is typically studied in dyads, and consequently, it is the researcher who determines a rat’s play partner. In real-life conditions, a rat would have many partners with whom to play. In a previous study, we found that rats do prefer to play with some individuals more than others, and surprisingly, when given the choice, unfamiliar partners are preferred to familiar ones. In this study, we assessed partner choice when all the available partners are strangers. Eight groups of six unfamiliar juvenile male rats were observed for 10 min play trials. One of the six in each group was selected as the ‘focal’ rat and his play towards, and received by, the others were scored. Social networks revealed that five of the eight groups formed preferences, with preferred partners also engaging in more play with the focal rat. The mechanism by which these preferences were formed remains to be determined, but it seems that there are individual differences, potentially in the amount and style of play, that allow an individual to select the most suitable partner from a group of strangers.
dc.description.peer-reviewYes
dc.identifier.citationHam, J. R., & Pellis, S. M. (2024). Play partner preferences among groups of unfamiliar juvenile male rats. Scientific Reports, 14, Article 16056. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-66988-w
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/7194
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherNature
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Neuroscience
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Science
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Lethbridge
dc.publisher.urlhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-66988-w
dc.subjectSocial behavior
dc.subjectPlay partners
dc.subjectPreferred partners
dc.subjectPlay in laboratory rats
dc.subject.lcshPlay behavior in animals
dc.subject.lcshRats--Behavior
dc.titlePlay partner preferences among groups of unfamiliar juvenile male rats
dc.typeArticle
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