Agora maze - new sociability test, SocioBox method

Benefits of Agora maze

• Ideal for videotracking
• Allows confronting the subject with 5 different stimulus animals
• For social interaction and exchange of odors
• Designed for quick replacement of stimulus mice
• Inter-trial cleaning is quick and easy

The Method (SocioBox) was originally described by D.Krueger-Burg et alia, in their paper “The SocioBox: a Novel Paradigm to Assess Complex Social Recognition in male Mice”. The original design, a large central square, and 5 cubicles positioned around its perimeter, enables confronting the subject (a wild--type male mouse) with 5 timulus mice, and subsequently see how readily the subject identifies an unfamiliar mouse among 5 newly acquainted animals.

The Agora Maze therefore allows diagnosis of social recognition deficits, prevalent in human psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. The Agora was used at University of Aberdeen with the specific interest in smell related behaviours, with the purpose of understanding mechanisms of pharmacodynamics PD. An early phenotype of PD is anosmia (loss of the sense of smell) may be translated to animals using a behavioural task that is dependent on smell as well as social interaction.

The Agora Maze 46573 consists of a 50x50cm grey base, on which 5 cubicles, and 5 blank walls are conveniently positioned to enclose a central square, having a cross diameter of 34 cm. The 5 cubicles are dimensioned 13x11.5cm, with 25cm height. Social interaction in rodents and especially mice is highly dependent on smell; detachable clear sliders, divide each cubicle from the central square; holes in the clear panels permit exchange of odors.

The Agora is optimized for videotracking, the ideal tool to automatize the test, allowing the experimenter to record the session without being present in the room. Additional parameters can be recorderd, such as time spent, as well as distance travelled by the mice in the area closer to the wall of the arena and in the centre.