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Play deprivation without social isolation: Housing controls
Author(s) -
Holloway Kevin S.,
Suter Robert B.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.10151
Subject(s) - social isolation , psychology , sensory deprivation , developmental psychology , wire mesh , social deprivation , audiology , isolation (microbiology) , sensory system , medicine , cognitive psychology , psychiatry , biology , materials science , microbiology and biotechnology , economics , composite material , economic growth
Three experiments were conducted to control for the effects of housing conditions during play deprivation on subsequent play rebound in periadolescent rats. To address play deprivation without the confound of social isolation, in Experiment 1 pairs of subjects were housed either in cages divided by wire mesh that allowed for olfactory, visual, auditory, and tactile interactions with a same‐sex agemate but prevented rough and tumble play or in standard cages. Running wheels were provided to similarly housed subjects in Experiment 2 to control for the ability to engage in physical activity. In Experiment 3, standard and brooder cages were used to control for the effects of housing area. Play‐deprived subjects in all conditions showed a greatly increased number of play responses immediately following deprivation. The results from these experiments more clearly indicate that the absence of play is the crucial feature that brings about play rebound following deprivation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 44: 58–67, 2004.