Two-Trial Social Memory Test

The Two-Trial Social Memory test assesses cognition, namely the ability to recognize novel versus familiar animals, in rodent models of CNS disorders. Over the course of multiple exposures, rodents will become habituated to an intruder and no longer find them as interesting as a completely novel intruder.

A never-before-met juvenile mice is placed into the home cage of a test animal for 5 minutes, and then removed. After a period of time, the same female is placed back in the home cage together with a novel, never-before-met juvenile mice for 5 minutes. This test can also be performed with C57Bl/6J intruders instead of juvenile mice.

All test trials are videotaped and subsequently analyzed for total body investigation, anogenital investigation, perioral investigation, body investigation, grooming behavior, sexual interaction, and otherwise undefined interaction. This test is useful in identifying social amnesia in transgenic mice exhibiting autistic symptoms or other social interaction deficits, as well as in identifying novel chemical entities affecting social memory.