Social Defeat
Social Defeat - Related Videos
08:10
A Mouse Model of Subchronic and Mild Social Defeat Stress for Understanding Stress-induced Behavioral and Physiological Deficits
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Cited by 25 •
2015
Here, methods for developing a mouse model of subchronic and mild social defeat stress are described and used to investigate the pathogenic features of depression including hyperphagia- and polydipsia-like symptoms following increased body weight.
07:06
Chronic Social Defeat Stress in Early Adolescent Male Mice
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Cited by 3 •
2025
This protocol details how to perform 10 day chronic social defeat stress in early adolescent male mice to produce long-lasting social avoidance in adulthood in more than 60% of mice.
07:15
Social Defeat Stress Model for Adolescent C57BL/6 Male and Female Mice
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Cited by 3 •
2024
We developed an accelerated social defeat stress model for adolescent C57BL/6 mice, which works in both males and females and allows exposure during discrete adolescent periods. Exposure to this model induces social avoidance, but only in a subset of defeated male and female mice.
11:13
The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
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Cited by 13 •
2015
Previous research on the social dimension of stress has focused on two important variables: social identity and social support. This protocol introduces an effective experimental manipulation of these two social variables and describes their implementation in a standard stress induction paradigm (Trier Social Stress Test).
00:52
Social Proof
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2020
Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do. A good example of social proof is from laugh tracks on television shows. Fullery & Skeffington (1974) found that adding group laughter sounds to material increased how humorous the participants perceived that material, regardless of whether the content itself was funny or not. By adding a laugh...
FAQs
Repeated exposure can produce lasting alterations, whereas acute stress responses capture more immediate effects. In this paradigm, chronic repetition is therefore important for examining persistent changes in social interaction, motivation, anxiety-like behavior, and stress-responsive neural and endocrine systems. Comparing acute and chronic conditions helps distinguish transient stress effects from adaptations relevant to prolonged stress-related dysfunction.
Social Defeat allows researchers to examine why repeated stress produces different behavioral and physiological consequences across subjects. By relating exposure to changes in social interaction, motivation, anxiety-like behavior, and stress-responsive systems, investigators can explore biological pathways associated with susceptibility or resilience. This distinction supports pharmacological research on why some stress-related outcomes may be more persistent than others.
Neural and endocrine responses provide physiological context for the behavioral effects observed after defeat. Changes in these stress-responsive systems can be examined alongside altered motivation, social interaction, or anxiety-like behavior, helping researchers connect observable behavior with underlying stress biology. In pharmacology, this combined assessment can clarify whether a treatment modifies behavioral effects, physiological responses, or both.
A study typically uses controlled encounters in which an animal experiences subordination or aggression from a dominant conspecific, followed by repeated exposure when chronic effects are being examined. Researchers then assess behavioral and physiological outcomes, including social interaction, motivation, anxiety-like behavior, and stress-responsive neural or endocrine changes. The resulting profile provides a basis for evaluating stress-related effects.
Researchers administer or compare pharmacological treatments in animals showing stress-related behavioral or physiological changes, then determine whether those outcomes are modified. Social interaction, motivation, and anxiety-like behavior are especially relevant readouts for assessing antidepressant and anxiolytic effects. Neural and endocrine measures can add information about biological responses associated with treatment, beyond behavioral improvement alone.
The paradigm supports studies of how pharmacological treatments modify stress-induced behavioral effects and helps investigate pathways associated with psychiatric disorders. It also enables comparisons between acute and chronic stress responses, which can reveal whether a compound influences immediate reactions, persistent changes, or both. These applications make the model useful for connecting stress biology with treatment-related outcomes.