Parental potentiation of vocalization as a marker for filial bonds in infant animals

Abstract

Maternal and paternal potentiation of vocalization are two parts of a promising model of early life social bonds that has been and can be a useful tool in research. Most mammalian infants vocalize when isolated. Interactions with adult females just before isolation have been found to increase vocalizations in several species. Interactions with littermates and other social stimuli do not. In guinea pigs and pigs, the response is specific to the dam. In rats and octagon degus, an unrelated adult female from the colony is sufficient. The presence of an intact adult male in the test chamber with dam-reared pups evokes behavioral inhibition, a fear response. Previous exposure to the male in the home cage, biparental rearing, dramatically transforms the response of the pup. The pup treats the adult male as it does its dam, including potentiation of vocalization during a subsequent isolation. This article outlines the methods, advantages, and disadvantages of parental potentiation as a research tool, as well as a brief review of the evidence supporting its use as a marker for filial attachment. Future research directions are outlined.

Maternal Deprivation Influences Pup Ultrasonic Vocalizations of C57BL/6J Mice

“…The interpretation of the results might be further confounded by the fact that maternal behaviors were not well controlled in our study. Given that USVs can be modulated by maternal behaviors [45], it is possible that maternal behavior towards pups after isolation can, to some extent, counteract the effects of MD on USVs; if this is the case, the finding of an acute rather than a cumulative effect of MD seems reasonable. Future work that targets infant-mother interactions and strict physiological control may help elucidate the difference between pre- and post-separation USVs.…”

The role of the dopamine D1 receptor in social cognition: studies using a novel genetic rat model

“…Given that interactions with adult females just before isolation increase vocalizations (a process termed maternal potentiation), it is thought that the vocalization reflects a marker of pup–mother social bonds (Shair, 2014). Expression of the maternal potentiation of the ultrasonic vocalization in pups is hypothesized to be related to reward processes, in part because dopamine activity plays a regulatory role.…”

“…Expression of the maternal potentiation of the ultrasonic vocalization in pups is hypothesized to be related to reward processes, in part because dopamine activity plays a regulatory role. It has been demonstrated that activation of dopamine type-2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens blocks maternal potentiation without altering vocalization rate in an initial isolation (Shair, 2014). By contrast, it has been found that Drd1 agonists, but not antagonists, reduce the number of isolation-induced infant rat ultrasonic vocalizations (Dastur et al, 1999; Muller et al, 2009), with the latter study even reporting a significant increase with the D1 antagonist SCH23390.…”

Effects of maternal deprivation and the duration of reunion time on rat pup ultrasonic vocalization responses to isolation: Possible implications for human infant studies

“…They act to hasten and direct maternal retrieval (Bowers, Perez-Pouchoulen, Edwards, & McCarthy, 2013;Brunelli, Shair, & Hofer, 1994;Smotherman, Bell, Starzec, Elias, & Zachman, 1974). Maternal potentiation of USV, furthermore, has been used as an indicator of filial attachment, reviewed in (Shair, 2007(Shair, , 2014. USV rate is reduced by anxiolytic compounds and increased by anxiogenics (Iijima et al, 2014;Kehoe & Blass, 1986;Miczek, Weerts, Vivian, & Barros, 1995;Zimmerberg, Brunelli, & Hofer, 1994).…”