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Social Approach Behaviors Are Similar On Conventional Versus Reverse Lighting Cycles, And In Replications Across Cohorts, In Btbr T+ Tf/J, C57bl/6j, And Vasopressin Receptor 1b Mutant Mice, Hewlet G. Mcfarlane, Mu Yang, Maria Luisa Scattoni, Vladimir Zhodzishsky, Thomas Chen, Heather Caldwell, W. Scott Young, Jacqueline N. Crawley

Hewlet McFarlane

Mice are a nocturnal species, whose social behaviors occur primarily during the dark phase of the circadian cycle. However, laboratory rodents are frequently tested during their light phase, for practical reasons. We investigated the question of whether light phase testing presents a methodological pitfall for investigating mouse social approach behaviors. Three lines of mice were systematically compared. One cohort of each line was raised in a conventional lighting schedule and tested during the light phase, under white light illumination; another cohort was raised in a reverse lighting schedule and tested during their dark phase, under dim red light. Male C57BL/6J …