Construction And Evaluation Of A Mouse Model Of Conditioned Social Fear

Social phobia is a highly prevalent and debilitating mental disorder,yet its pathological mechanism is poorly understood.At present,social defeat and foot-shock exposure are commonly used mouse models in the research of social phobia.These models recapitulate core symptoms of social phobia.Unfortunately,neither social defeat model nor foot-shock exposure model is specific to social fear.Therefore,to study the neural mechanism underlying social fear precisely,it is crucial to develop proper animal models.In this study,we first developed a computer-based device for mouse social fear conditioning.Moreover,we optimized experimental procedure and induced robust social fear mouse model.By using a set of behavioral tests,we confirmed that our conditioned social fear mouse model is specific to social fear,therefore representing an ideal mouse model for study of social fear.In addition,for the first time,we reported that conditioned social fear mouse show fear response to not only male mouse but also female mouse.Together,we developed sound devices for social fear conditioning,and confirmed the effectiveness and specificity of conditioned social fear mouse model.Our work set a good foundation for further study of the neural mechanisms underlying social fear.