No significant effect of habituation time and cage shape/size on the duration of the follow and stop behaviors.

<p>Measures were taken after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (A) Time spent by the <i>occupant</i> (occ) following the <i>new-comer</i> (nc) in the first 4 min of interaction. (B) Time spent by the <i>occupant</i> (occ) not moving during the first 4 min of interaction. (C) Time spent by the <i>new-comer</i> (nc) not moving during the first 4 min of interaction. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

Contexts of ultrasonic vocalization emission during social interactions.

<p>Proportion of ultrasonic vocalizations emitted during social events during the first 4 min of interactions (A) after 20 min habituation in the rectangular cage, (B) after 20 min habituation in the round cage, (C) after 20 min habituation in the square cage, (D) after 30 min habituation in the rectangular cage, (E) after 30 min habituation in the round cage, (F) after 30 min habituation in the square cage. Social events are presented in the following order: contact < 1 cm, nose-to-nose contact, <i>occupant</i> sniffing ano-genital region of <i>new-comer</i>, <i>occupant</i> sniffing ano-genital region of <i>new-comer</i>, <i>occupant</i> behind <i>new-comer</i>, <i>new-comer</i> behind <i>occupant</i>, <i>occupant</i> not moving, <i>new-comer</i> not moving, <i>occupant</i> approaches <i>new-comer</i> & <i>new-comer</i> escapes, <i>new-comer</i> approaches <i>occupant</i> and <i>occupant</i> escapes, <i>occupant</i> approaches <i>new-comer</i> & <i>occupant</i> escapes, <i>new-comer</i> approaches <i>occupant</i> & <i>new-comer</i> escapes, <i>occupant</i> following <i>new-comer</i>, <i>new-comer</i> in the vision field of <i>occupant</i>, <i>occupant</i> in the vision field of <i>new-comer</i> (n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

No significant effect of habituation time and cage shape/size on the vocal behavior of the pairs of interacting mice.

<p>Measures were taken during the first 4 min of interaction after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (A) Latency for the first ultrasonic vocalization. (B) Number of ultrasonic vocalizations emitted by minute. (C) Mean duration of ultrasonic vocalizations. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

Limited effect of habituation time and cage shape/size on the duration of different types of contact.

<p>Contact (< 1 cm) was measured during the first 4 min of interaction after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (A) Time spent in mouth-to-mouth contact. (B) Time spent by the <i>occupant</i> (occ) sniffing the ano-genital region of the <i>new-comer</i>. (C) Time spent by the <i>new-comer</i> (nc) sniffing the ano-genital region of the <i>occupant</i>. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; *: p<0.05, **: p<0.01; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

Limited influence of habituation time and cage shape/size on the time spent in contact.

<p>Time in contact (< 1 cm) was measured during the first 4 min of interaction after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; *: p<0.05; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

Limited effect of habituation time and cage shape/size on the number of occurrences of different types of approach-escape sequences.

<p>Measures were taken during the first 4 min of interaction after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (A) Number of occurrences of the sequence “<i>occupant</i> approaches <i>new-comer</i> & <i>new-comer</i> escapes”. (B) Number of occurrences of the sequence “<i>new-comer</i> approaches <i>occupant</i> and <i>occupant</i> escapes”. (C) Number of occurrences of the sequence “<i>occupant</i> approaches <i>new-comer</i> & <i>occupant</i> escapes”. (D) Number of occurrences of the sequence “<i>new-comer</i> approaches <i>occupant</i> & <i>new-comer</i> escapes”. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; *: p<0.05, **: p<0.01; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

Limited effect of habituation time and cage shape/size on the time spent by one individual in the vision field of the other one.

<p>Measures were taken during the first 4 min of interaction after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (A) Time spent by the <i>new-comer</i> in the vision field of the <i>occupant</i>. (B) Time spent by the <i>occupant</i> in the vision field of the <i>new-comer</i>. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; *: p<0.05; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

Methods used to examine the influence of cage shape/size on social interactions in mice.

<p>(A) Setting used to track with Mice Profiler the <i>occupant</i> male (red) and the <i>new-comer</i> male (green) during social interactions in a rectangle, a round and a square cage. (B) Behavioral events detected by Mice Profiler during social interactions between the <i>occupant</i> (red) and the <i>new-comer</i> (green). (C) Spatial occupation of the interaction cage by the <i>occupant</i> (red) and the <i>new-comer</i> (green) for the eight pairs of mice in the three cage types. Yellow traces represent the overlap of the two spatial occupations.</p

Limited effect of habituation time and cage shape/size on the number of approach or escape behaviors.

<p>Measures were taken during the first 4 min of interaction after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (A) Number of occurrences of the <i>occupant</i> (occ) approaching the <i>new-comer</i>. (B) Number of occurrences of the <i>new-comer</i> (nc) approaching the <i>occupant</i>. (C) Number of occurrences of the <i>occupant</i> (occ) escaping from the <i>new-comer</i>. (D) Number of occurrences of the <i>new-comer</i> (nc) escaping from the <i>occupant</i>. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; *: p<0.05, **: p<0.01; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p