The Study of Social Cognition: Social Recognition and Social Learning in Laboratory Rats and Mice

Abstract

Social cognition includes a variety of behaviors that are important for social life and the formation of relationships. Effective paradigms for these behaviors are needed in order for research to be conducted to understand the mechanisms underlying social cognition. In this chapter, we examine the experimental methodology to measure two of these behaviors, social recognition and social learning, in rodents. The materials required and the procedures for the paradigms that are used in our laboratory are highlighted. Finally, we discuss some possible issues that may occur in these paradigms and how they can be avoided, and we discuss some of the current knowledge base about the mechanisms that mediate social recognition and social learning.