EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL DISENGAGEMENT ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN MICE

ABSTRACT Social isolation is a significant stressor linked to depression and cognitive dysfunction in both humans and animal models. While rodent studies often demonstrate isolation-induced deficits, the literature presents inconsistencies, potentially due to variations in the developmental timing and duration of isolation, as well as the specific cognitive domains assessed. This study investigated the effects of prolonged adult-onset social isolation on short-term spatial working memory in mice. Using a randomized controlled design, adult mice were assigned to either a group-housed control condition or a 4–6-week social isolation paradigm. Cognitive function was assessed using the Y-maze spontaneous alternation task, a measure dependent on prefrontal-hippocampal circuitry. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, the results revealed no significant difference in spontaneous alternation performance between the socially isolated and group-housed control mice. This key finding suggests that short-term spatial working memory exhibits a degree of resilience to a period of isolation initiated in adulthood. The study concludes that the cognitive impact of social isolation is not uniform but is highly dependent on experimental parameters, particularly the age of onset. The null behavioral result underscores the need to refine isolation models and investigate a broader battery of cognitive tasks to fully elucidate the specific and domain-dependent consequences of social disengagement. Keywords: social isolation, cognitive function, depression, spontaneous alternation, behavior.