Social deprivation and play in rats
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When play is highly motivated following social isolation and the play bout is short, there are no consistent sex differences in the structure of or time spent engaged in play.
“When play is highly motivated, as is the case following periods of social isolation, and the play bout is short, there are no consistent sex differences in the structure of or time spent engaged in play (Panksepp & Beatty, 1980; Panksepp, 1981; Thor & Holloway, 1984).”
From Developmental origins of sex differences in the neural circuitry of play (2020) · cites this paper as Panksepp & Beatty, 1980
The sex difference in play is often not detected in experiments that test animals in same-sex pairs.
“this difference is often not detected in experiments that test animals in same-sex pairs (e.g., Panksepp and Beatty, 1980; Panksepp, 1981; Thor and Holloway, 1984; Veenema et al., 2013; present results).”
From Sexually dimorphic role for vasopressin in the development of social play (2014) · cites this paper as Panksepp and Beatty, 1980
Sex differences in social play disappear when rats are briefly isolated and tested for social play in resident-intruder settings.
“However, these sex differences in social play disappear when rats are briefly isolated and tested for social play in resident-intruder settings (Panksepp & Beatty, 1980; Panksepp, 1981; Thor & Holloway, 1984).”
From Sex-specific modulation of juvenile social play by vasopressin (2013) · cites this paper as Panksepp & Beatty, 1980
Rat play behavior typically emerges in the week preceding weaning (approximately PND 16-17), peaks between PND 30-35 and declines thereafter.
“Rat play behavior typically emerges in the week preceding weaning (approximately PND 16–17), peaks between PND 30–35 and declines thereafter [60].”
From Behavioral Phenotyping of Juvenile Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley Rats: Implications for Preclinical Models of Autism Spectrum Disorders (2016) · cites this paper as [60]
Social isolation increases the motivation of rats to play.
“Given that social isolation increases the motivation of rats to play (Panksepp and Beatty 1980; Pellis et al. 1997), this suggests that the males' preference to play with females is robust, not being masked by a general motivation to play.”
From Partner Choice and Context‐Dependent Sex Differences in Rat Rough‐and‐Tumble Play (2026) · cites this paper as Panksepp and Beatty 1980
The males' preference to play with females is robust and not masked by a general motivation to play.
“Given that social isolation increases the motivation of rats to play (Panksepp and Beatty 1980; Pellis et al. 1997), this suggests that the males' preference to play with females is robust, not being masked by a general motivation to play.”
From Partner Choice and Context‐Dependent Sex Differences in Rat Rough‐and‐Tumble Play (2026) · cites this paper as Panksepp and Beatty 1980
Up to 24 h, longer periods of isolation induce more play in rats.
“Indeed, up to 24 h, longer periods of isolation induce more play (Panksepp and Beatty, 1980), but see Manduca et al. (2016) for an exception.”
From Effects of Maternal Deprivation and Complex Housing on Rat Social Behavior in Adolescence and Adulthood (2018) · cites this paper as Panksepp and Beatty, 1980
Not all test paradigms or all strains of rats show higher levels of play in males.
“Not all test paradigms (Panksepp, 1981;Panksepp & Beatty, 1980) or all strains of rats (Reinhart, McIntyre, & Pellis, 2004) show higher levels of play in males, however.”
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 Panksepp & Beatty, 1980
A dyadic paradigm was developed in which rats are tested in pairs in an enclosure to which they have been habituated following a period of social isolation to increase their motivation to engage in play.
“Consequently, a dyadic paradigm was developed—rats are tested in pairs in an enclosure to which they have been habituated following a period of social isolation to increase their motivation to engage in play (Panksepp and Beatty, 1980; Panksepp, 1981).”
From The rough-and-tumble play of rats as a natural behavior suitable for studying the social brain (2022) · cites this paper as Panksepp and Beatty, 1980
A period of social isolation is often used to induce high rates of play behavior in rats within a short time interval.
“A period of social isolation is often used to induce high rates of play behavior in rats within a short time interval (Niesink & van Ree, 1989;Panksepp & Beatty, 1980;Vanderschuren, Niesink, Spruijt, 1995;Vanderschuren, Stein, Wiegant, & van Ree, 1995).”
From Play in Rats: Association across Contexts and Types, and Analysis of Structure (2014) · cites this paper as Panksepp & Beatty, 1980
Pinning and pouncing are the most characteristic parameters of social play behavior in rats.
“Of these behaviors, pinning and pouncing are considered the most characteristic parameters of social play behavior in rats (Panksepp and Beatty, 1980;Vanderschuren et al., 1995b).”
From Social Play Behavior Is Critical for the Development of Prefrontal Inhibitory Synapses and Cognitive Flexibility in Rats (2022) · cites this paper as Panksepp and Beatty, 1980
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“However, these sex differences in social play disappear when rats are briefly isolated and tested for social play in resident-intruder settings (Panksepp & Beatty, 1980; Panksepp, 1981; Thor & Holloway, 1984).”
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“…in mix-sex groups (Meaney and Stewart, 1981b; Olesen et al., 2005; Parent and Meaney, 2008), this difference is often not detected in experiments that test animals in same-sex pairs (e.g., Panksepp and Beatty, 1980; Panksepp, 1981; Thor and Holloway, 1984; Veenema et al., 2013; present results).”
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“Indeed, up to 24 h, longer periods of isolation induce more play (Panksepp and Beatty, 1980), but see Manduca et al. (2016) for an exception.”
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Developmental origins of sex differences in the neural circuitry of play
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“When play is highly motivated, as is the case following periods of social isolation, and the play bout is short, there are no consistent sex differences in the structure of or time spent engaged in play (Panksepp, 1981; Panksepp & Beatty, 1980; Thor & Holloway, 1984).”
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“As seen in previous studies of juvenile isolation (Panksepp and Beatty, 1980; Ikemoto and Panksepp, 1992), we found that the ability and motivation to participate in play was not only intact in BARR and ISO animals but was increased relative to our historical data for control-housed animals (Figure 1C; Argue and McCar…”
ResultCutuli, D., Berretta, E., Caporali, P., Sampedro-Piquero, P., De Bartolo, P., Laricchiuta, D., Gelfo, F., Pesoli, M., Foti, F., Farioli Vecchioli, S., et al. (2019) · Neuropharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.02.015 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
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“Consequently, a dyadic paradigm was developed—rats are tested in pairs in an enclosure to which they have been habituated following a period of social isolation to increase their motivation to engage in play (Panksepp and Beatty, 1980; Panksepp, 1981).”
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Sleep deprivation does not affect spatial memory in rats
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Self-citationNeurexin1α knockout in rats causes aberrant social behaviour: relevance for autism and schizophrenia
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“Pinning and pouncing frequencies are considered the most characteristic parameters of social play behaviour in rats (Panksepp and Beatty 1980; Trezza et al. 2010).”
Ultrasonic Vocalization Analysis as a Novel Metric to Assess Cage Enrichment in Rats
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Orsucci, I. C., Becker, K. D., Ham, J. R., Lee, J. D. A., Bowden, S. M., & Veenema, A. H. (2025) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.115080 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Partner Choice and Context‐Dependent Sex Differences in Rat Rough‐and‐Tumble Play
Ham, J. R., Pellis, S. M., & McDonald, R. J. (2026) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/ejn.70426 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Given that social isolation increases the motivation of rats to play (Panksepp and Beatty 1980; Pellis et al. 1997), this suggests that the males' preference to play with females is robust, not being masked by a general motivation to play.”
- Authors
- Panksepp, J., & Beatty, W. W.
- Affiliations
- Bowling Green State University (US)
- North Dakota State University (US)
- Venue
- Behavioral and Neural Biology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1980-10
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 197-206
- ISSN
- 0163-1047 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2023891230
- Cited by
- 409
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 26.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Behavioral and Neural Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Keywords
- social play, play fighting, social deprivation, young rats, rough-and-tumble play, social interaction, play behavior
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Female, Male, Play and Playthings, Social Behavior, Social Isolation, Rats
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