Dam-pup social transmission: A modified paradigm for transmission of food preference

The social transmission of food preference, a rudimentary form of social learning, has primarily been studied in pairs of adult rodents. Here, we present a protocol to explore the parent offspring context in social learning using an adaptation of this classic paradigm for rodent dam pup dyads. We describe steps for studying weanling mice from the same mother and present a worked example using weight-based (food consumption) and time-based (exploration) indices of social learning.