The effects of pre-weaning social isolation and mother’s presence on the object exploration behavior of infant octodon degus

Abstract

The unique social behavior of degus (Octodon degus) makes them a suitable animal model for social and emotional studies. Using degu pups, we examined the effects of repetitive short-term isolation on novel object exploratory behavior at 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 weeks of age. Isolated pups were separated from their family 14 times for 30 min a day from 6–23 days post-birth. Non-isolated pups were reared with their families. A two-condition (with-mother or without-mother) object exploration test showed an isolation effect at 3 weeks. Compared with non-isolated pups, isolated pups showed longer start latency under the without-mother condition than under the with-mother condition, and less frequent contact with a novel object even when their mother was present. Non-isolated pups showed more frequent contact with the novel object under the with-mother condition than the without-mother condition. Repetitive maternal separation in early life negatively affected degu novel object exploratory behavior.