Differential rates of attack, defense, and counterattack during the developmental decrease in play fighting by male and female rats
Abstract
During postweaning development, rats exhibit several well documented trends in their play fighting: (1) It peaks between 30–40 days and then declines with the approach of sexual maturity; (2) males initiate more play fights than females; and (3) the overall complexity of play fights, as expressed by such measures as duration of bouts, also decreases with increasing age. Such trends could arise from changes in attack or defense, or some combination of both. In this article it is shown that (a) the decline in play fighting with the onset of sexual maturity in rats results from a decline in attack, not in defense; (b) the differences in play fighting by male and female rats are due to sex‐specific rates of both attack and defense; (c) the developmental decrease in the complexity of play fighting arises from a decrease in the frequency of counterattacks (i.e., after an animal defends itself, it is less likely to launch an attack). In this way, age and sex differences in play fighting can be traced to differences in its subcomponents.
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Males are more likely to counterattack, engage in boxing, and pin more frequently than females.
“Males are also more likely to counterattack, engage in boxing, and pin more frequently, all of which may reflect the initial difference in the rate of play initiation (Pellis & Pellis, 1990).”
From Developmental origins of sex differences in the neural circuitry of play (2020) · cites this paper as Pellis & Pellis, 1990
The "turn and face" play behavior characteristic of LE rats may provide an opportunity to quantify more nuanced social interactions.
“though the “turn and face” play behavior characteristic of LE rats may provide an opportunity to quantify more nuanced social interactions [26–33].”
From Behavioral Phenotyping of Juvenile Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley Rats: Implications for Preclinical Models of Autism Spectrum Disorders (2016) · cites this paper as [27]
Paradigms optimized for eliciting play behavior in LE rats utilize 24 hours of social isolation prior to testing, repeated habituation to the test cage, testing in complete darkness and the presence of bedding.
“In contrast, paradigms optimized for eliciting play behavior in LE rats utilize 24 hours of social isolation prior to testing, repeated habituation to the test cage, testing in complete darkness and the presence of bedding [27,41,57,82].”
From Behavioral Phenotyping of Juvenile Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley Rats: Implications for Preclinical Models of Autism Spectrum Disorders (2016) · cites this paper as [27]
The animals from one cage were not used in the final analysis because this cage contained animals of two different ages and social play changes with age.
“The animals from one cage were not used in the final analysis because this cage contained animals of two different ages and social play changes with age [22, 23].”
From Sex-specific effects of neonatal progestin receptor antagonism on juvenile social play behavior in rats (2021) · cites this paper as [22]
Chronic exposure to males in the home cage can decrease how much females play even when the females are tested in same-sex pairs.
“although chronic exposure to males in the home cage can decrease how much females play even when the females are tested in same‐sex pairs (e.g., Pellis and Pellis 1990)”
From Partner Choice and Context‐Dependent Sex Differences in Rat Rough‐and‐Tumble Play (2026) · cites this paper as Pellis and Pellis 1990
In male rats, the probability of defense against a playful attack does not change with age.
“With regard to playful defense it has been shown that while the probability of defense against a playful attack does not change with age in males (Pellis & Pellis, 1990;Pellis et al., 1997), the use of complete rotations, in response to playful attack, decreases with the onset of puberty (Pellis & Pellis, 1990, 1991).”
From Play fighting in androgen-insensitivetfm rats: Evidence that androgen receptors are necessary for the development of adult playful attack and defense (2006) · cites this paper as Pellis & Pellis, 1990
It is unlikely that the procedures used in the present experiment account for the reversed sex difference.
“Given that the testing paradigm we used is the same as that which has been used to consistently show sex differences in the frequency of play fighting in Long Evans hooded rats (e.g., Pellis & Pellis, 1990;Pellis et al., 1994), it is unlikely that the procedures used in the present experiment account for the reversed sex difference.”
From Play fighting in androgen-insensitivetfm rats: Evidence that androgen receptors are necessary for the development of adult playful attack and defense (2006) · cites this paper as Pellis & Pellis, 1990
Pellis and Pellis described in Long Evans hooded male and female rats a peak of play fighting around 41-45 days of age in same-sex pairs.
“Pellis and Pellis [55] described in Long Evans hooded male and female rats a peak of play fighting around 41–45 days of age in same-sex pairs.”
From Developmental exposure to low levels of ethinylestradiol affects social play in juvenile male rats (2020) · cites this paper as [55]
In laboratory rats, rough-and-tumble play begins to emerge in the third week after birth, peaks between the fourth and fifth week, declines with the onset of puberty, and continues into adulthood at a lower level.
“In laboratory rats, RTP begins to emerge in the third week after birth, peaks in occurrence between the fourth and fifth week and then declines with the onset of puberty, but continues into adulthood, albeit at a lower level (Thor and Holloway, 1984; Pellis and Pellis, 1990, 1997).”
From The rough-and-tumble play of rats as a natural behavior suitable for studying the social brain (2022) · cites this paper as Pellis and Pellis, 1990
Studies of social play in juvenile rats have revealed sex differences in playful defence behaviours, with males more likely to adopt a supine posture and females more likely to evade through lateral rotation.
“Studies of social play in juvenile rats have revealed sex differences in playful defence behaviours, with males more likely to adopt a supine posture and females more likely to evade through lateral rotation ( Pellis & McKenna, 1992; Pellis & Pellis, 1990).”
From Stage 2 Registered Report: Refinement of tickling protocols to improve positive animal welfare in laboratory rats (2025) · cites this paper as Pellis & Pellis, 1990
Even when playing with males and being exposed to more nape attacks, females were more likely to evade with lateral rotation.
“Even when playing with males and being exposed to more nape attacks, females were more likely to evade with lateral rotation ( Pellis & Pellis, 1990);”
From Stage 2 Registered Report: Refinement of tickling protocols to improve positive animal welfare in laboratory rats (2025) · cites this paper as Pellis & Pellis, 1990
Juvenile male rats exhibit more playful initiation behaviour than females.
“Juvenile male rats exhibit more playful initiation behaviour than females ( Meaney & Stewart, 1981; Pellis & Pellis, 1990; Thor & Holloway, 1984) and produce more USVs than females during social play including during pinning ( Kisko et al., 2021).”
From Stage 2 Registered Report: Refinement of tickling protocols to improve positive animal welfare in laboratory rats (2025) · cites this paper as Pellis & Pellis, 1990
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“Males are also more likely to counterattack, engage in boxing, and pin more frequently, all of which may reflect the initial difference in the rate of play initiation (Pellis & Pellis, 1990).”
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“Additionally, there are known sex differences in the qualitative characteristics of social play interactions (Pellis and Pellis, 1990, 1997).”
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“In laboratory rats, RTP begins to emerge in the third week after birth, peaks in occurrence between the fourth and fifth week and then declines with the onset of puberty, but continues into adulthood, albeit at a lower level (Thor and Holloway, 1984; Pellis and Pellis, 1990, 1997).”
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“Studies of social play in juvenile rats have revealedsexdifferences inplayfuldefencebehaviours,withmalesmorelikely toadoptasupinepostureandfemalesmore likely to evade through lateral rotation (Pellis & McKenna, 1992; Pellis & Pellis, 1990).”
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“…is, although chronic exposure to males in the home cage can decrease how much females play even when the females are tested in same-sex pairs (e.g., Pellis and Pellis 1990), our present data show that males can also influence the play of females acutely, even for females housed in same-sex pairs.”
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Pellis, S. M., & Pellis, V. C.
- Affiliations
- University of Florida (US)
- Corresponding author
- Pellis, Sergio M.
- Venue
- Developmental Psychobiology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1990-04
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 215-231
- ISSN
- 0012-1630 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-2302
- OpenAlex
- W2061863994
- Cited by
- 255
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 9.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Psychobiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Keywords
- play fighting, rats, sexual maturity, sex differences, attack behavior, defensive behavior, counterattack, post-weaning development, behavioral development, social behavior
- MeSH terms
- Aggression, Aging, Agonistic Behavior, Animals, Body Weight, Female, Male, Play and Playthings, Rats, Inbred Strains, Sex Factors, Rats
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