TY - JOUR T1 - Atypical social development in vasopressin-deficient Brattleboro rats JF - eneuro JO - eneuro DO - 10.1523/ENEURO.0150-15.2016 SP - ENEURO.0150-15.2016 AU - Matthew J. Paul AU - Nicole V. Peters AU - Mary K. Holder AU - Anastasia M. Kim AU - Jack Whylings AU - Joseph I. Terranova AU - Geert J. de Vries Y1 - 2016/03/24 UR - http://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2016/03/24/ENEURO.0150-15.2016.abstract N2 - Over the past three decades, a large body of evidence has accumulated demonstrating that the neuropeptide arginine vasopressin (AVP) plays a critical role in regulating social behavior. The overwhelming majority of this evidence comes from adults, leaving a gap in our understanding of AVP’s role during development. Here, we investigated the effect of chronic AVP deficiency on a suite of juvenile social behaviors using Brattleboro rats, which lack AVP due to a mutation in the Avp gene. Social play behavior, huddling, social investigation & allogrooming, and ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) of male and female rats homozygous for the Brattleboro mutation (Hom) were compared to their wild type (WT) and heterozygous (Het) littermates during same-sex, same-genotype social interactions. Male and female Hom juveniles exhibited less social play than their Het and WT littermates throughout the rise, peak, and decline of play’s developmental profile. Hom juveniles also emitted fewer prosocial 50 kHz USVs, and spectrotemporal characteristics (call frequency and call duration) of individual call types differed from those of WT and Het juveniles. However, huddling behavior was increased in Hom juveniles, and social investigation and 22 kHz USVs did not differ across genotypes demonstrating that not all social interactions were affected in the same manner. Collectively, these data suggest that the Avp gene plays a critical role in juvenile social development.Significance Statement: Several neurodevelopmental disorders are characterized by deficits in social behaviors, the underlying neurobiology of which is not understood. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) has emerged as a candidate neuropeptide through which two such groups of disorders, autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia, might impact social function. Nonetheless, only a few studies have investigated AVP’s role in social development. Here, we find that rats with a mutation in the Avp gene exhibit “atypical” juvenile social behaviors and vocal communication. These findings suggest that AVP plays a critical role in the regulation of the quantity, quality, and type of social behaviors expressed during development. ER -