Domestication and diversification: A comparative analysis of the play fighting of the Brown Norway, Sprague-Dawley, and Wistar laboratory strains of (Rattus norvegicus).

Laboratory strains of rats are a commonly used subject to study play behavior. Recent research has shown that play in one laboratory strain of rat (e.g., Long-Evans hooded) differs in a number of ways from its wild counterparts. These findings suggest that domestication affects some aspects of pl…