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April 16, 2026Biology LettersOpen Access

Sex differences in the enjoyment of enrichment: affective bias testing confirms female rats prefer more playful and less vigorous tickling

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Authors

CGCatalina GonzalezALA B LawrenceMMMichael Mendl

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Overview

Affective bias testing shows female rats prefer playful tickling, suggesting welfare improvements.

Key Points

  • This research aims to investigate the differences between male and female rats in their enjoyment of tickling as a positive affective experience.
  • Conducted affective bias tests to assess emotional states during tickling.
  • Utilized ultrasonic vocalizations to measure affective responses of rats in different tickling scenarios.
  • Compared reactions of male and female rats to standard and refined tickling protocols.
  • Both sexes displayed positive affective states during tickling.
  • Female rats showed a preference for playful tickling with minimal pinning, unlike male rats.
  • Findings support the use of ultrasonic vocalizations as an indicator of positive affect in rats.

Cite This Study

Gonzalez et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69e07d3c2f7e8953b7cbe4f9https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0075
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Also Consider

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  1. 1Stage 2 Registered Report: Refinement of tickling protocols to improve positive animal welfare in laboratory rats2025
  2. 2Stage 2 Registered Report: Refinement of tickling protocols to improve positive animal welfare in laboratory rats2025 · 4 citations
  3. 3Tickling of rats is associated with positive affective states, but does not replicate juvenile social play regarding the involvement of central oxytocin and vasopressin systems2024 · 1 citations
  4. 4Feel-good songs: application of a novel playback paradigm to induce a positive affective state in juvenile male Wistar rats2024 · 7 citations
  5. 5Disentangling developmental effects of play aspects in rat rough-and-tumble play2024 · 1 citations