Effects of altering serotonin levels on social interactions of mice
A data frame with 48 observations on the following 3 variables.
ContactsNumber of social contacts the mouse had during the experiment
SexF=female or M=male
GenotypeMinus, Mixed, or Plus (see description below)
Serotonin is a chemical that influences mood balance in humans. But how does it affect mice? Scientists genetically altered mice by "knocking out" the expression of a gene, tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (Tph2), that regulates serotonin production. With careful breeding, the scientists produced three types of mice that we label as ``Minus'' for Tph2-/-, ``Plus'' for Tph2+/+, ``Mixed'' for Tph2+/-. The variable Genotype records Minus/Plus/Mixed. The variable Contacts is the number of social contacts that a mouse had with other mice during an experiment and the variable Sex is ``M'' for males and ``F'' for females.