What the laboratory rat has taught us about social play behavior: role in behavioral development and neural mechanisms

Social play behavior is the most vigorous and characteristic form of social interaction displayed by developing mammals. The laboratory rat is an ideal species to study this behavior, since it shows ample social play that can be easily recognized and quantified. In this chapter, we will first briefly describe the structure of social play behavior in rats. Next, we will discuss studies that used social isolation rearing during the period in life when social play is most abundant to investigate the developmental functions of social play behavior in rats, focusing on the consequences of play deprivation on social, cognitive, emotional, and sensorimotor development. Last, we will discuss the neural substrates of social play behavior in rats, with emphasis on the limbic corticostriatal circuits that underlie emotions and their influence on behavior.