Play is a critical and ethologically relevant aspect of the developmental process across phyla and has been particularly well characterised in laboratory rats. Evidence from play deprivation studies strongly suggests that playful interaction during the juvenile period is necessary for normal socio-emotional development and contributes to a stress resilient phenotype in adulthood.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterised in part by difficulties with reciprocal social interaction and often comorbid with anxiety and depression. Because of its relevance to development in both humans and rats, and the relative ease with which play can be observed in rats in the laboratory, juvenile play is a fruitful behaviour to study in relation to ASD. However, separating the effects of play versus non-playful social behaviour on development is difficult.
Most research on play has relied on social isolation to restrict play, although general social interaction and play may contribute differently to development. To address this issue, a novel housing system will be developed to manipulate access to play during specific periods of juvenile development while still allowing direct interaction with peers