Abstract:Objective：To establish a stable and specific behaviour model of social phobia(SP) in mice.Methods: The conditioned foot-shock (0.7mA, 1s, 1-5 times) was used to induce a model of SP in mice. The social investigation behavior were detected on d 2 or d 15 after the foot-shock, with the percentage of investigation time ( IT % ) as a behavior index of SP. In addition, the elevated plus maze test (EPMT), the light/dark transition test (L/DTT) and the forced swimming test (FST) were used to evaluate the generalized anxiety behavior or depression-like behavior of the model mice.Results: In the social investigation test, compared with the non-social stimulus（NSS）group, the IT % of conditioned social stimulus（CSS） group were significantly decreased on d 2 or d 15 day after the conditioned foot-shock. On the other hand, no significant differences were observed between NSS group and CSS group on the behavioral indexes of EPMT, L/DTT and FST.Conclusion: The SP model in mice was established successfully by the conditioned foot-shock paradigm. The model was stable and specific within at least 2 weeks and without the interference of generalized anxiety or depression-like behavior.

Key words: