*2.4.4 Assessment of social behaviour*

Nesting behaviour test used by Bender et al. [22] and Deacon [23] as an assay for social behaviour was used in this present study. The test was conducted in individual home cages. In total, 1 h before giving the mice nestling materials, all enrichment objects were removed from the home cages of the mice. About 3.0 g of nestling material was supplied to each mouse in its home cage and allowed for 24 h after which the nests were assessed using the rating scale supplied by Deacon [23] (**Table 1**). This assessment was based on what was seen in the home cages of the mice. Extreme care was taken while observation was carried out, as causing panic to a mouse could result in the destruction of the nest that was built.


#### **Table 1.** *Nesting behaviour rating scale.*
