Rats are social animals that produce high-frequency whistles said to reflect their underlying affective state. Injecting rats with a glutamate agonist (domoic acid) at a sensitive period of brain development, models aspects of schizophrenia. This is known as the neonatal DOM model.

We investigated whether DOM rats display altered social behaviour – as seen in patients with schizophrenia – using their high-frequency whistles as a proxy for the emotional valence of social situations.

We used 19 male Sprague Dawley rats, injected with either a low-dose of domoic acid or saline at postnatal days 8 to 14. The social behaviour of the rats was investigated at four levels:

– anticipation of social interaction;

– dyadic encounter;

– three-chamber test;

– tickling.

Tests were carried out at postnatal days 34 to 40 and 50 to 56. Rat whistles were recorded on all days of testing.

In progress.

The interest in rat whistles as a supplement to traditional behavioural tests has increased. New software allows for detailed qualitative analysis of the whistle subtypes and thus new complexity to their interpretation. This study can help unravel information encoded in the whistles and shed light on the social behaviour of the DOM rat thus investigating it is applicability as a model of schizophrenia.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.