Sex differences in the acoustic features of social play‐induced 50‐kHz ultrasonic vocalizations: A detailed spectrographic analysis in wild‐type Sprague–Dawley and <i>Cacna1c</i> haploinsufficient rats

Kisko, Theresa M.; Schwarting, Rainer K.W.; Wöhr, Markus

doi:10.1002/dev.21998

Cited by 18 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Female rat USVs also had a higher peak frequency. For experimental animals, female rats produced a similar rate of 50 kHz USVs during play as male control animals, whereas experimental male animals had reduced 50 kHz USV production during play [115,116].…”

Section: Cacna1c P32-p34 Cacna1c 5 Minmentioning

confidence: 89%

Biological and Acoustic Sex Differences in Rat Ultrasonic Vocalization

et al. 2021

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The rat model is a useful tool for understanding peripheral and central mechanisms of laryngeal biology. Rats produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) that have communicative intent and are altered by experimental conditions such as social environment, stress, diet, drugs, age, and neurological diseases, validating the rat model’s utility for studying communication and related deficits. Sex differences are apparent in both the rat larynx and USV acoustics and are differentially affected by experimental conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this review paper is to highlight the known sex differences in rat USV production, acoustics, and laryngeal biology detailed in the literature across the lifespan.

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Section: Cacna1c P32-p34 Cacna1c 5 Minmentioning

confidence: 89%

Biological and Acoustic Sex Differences in Rat Ultrasonic Vocalization

et al. 2021

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“…Both studies used the same strain of rat, the same 2 min expectation window, and similar methods of food deprivation. Burgdorf et al did use a mix of male and female rats while we used solely males, but previous studies have shown that sex differences in vocalizations are either subtle or non-existent [ 45 , 46 , 47 ] (see below). Hence, the most notable difference was that we used juvenile rats while they, and all the other studies cited above, used adults.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Certainly, juvenile male rats play more than female rats [ 54 , 55 ]. It is hence not surprising that one recent study in Sprague-Dawley rats found lower overall vocalizations in juvenile females [ 47 ]. The authors also found decreases in specific calls (flat and step) but not others (trill).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rat 50 kHz Trill Calls Are Tied to the Expectation of Social Interaction

2021

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Rats emit a variety of calls in the 40–80 kHz range (50 kHz calls). While these calls are generally associated with positive affect, it is unclear whether certain calls might be used selectively in certain contexts. To examine this, we looked at ultrasonic calls in 30–40 day old male rats during the expectation of either play or food, both of which are reinforcing. Behavior and vocalizations were recorded while rats were in a test chamber awaiting the arrival of a play partner or food over seven days of testing. Control groups were included for the non-specific effects of food deprivation and social isolation. Play reward led to an increase in 50 kHz vocalizations, generally, with specific increases in trill and “trill with jump” calls not seen in other groups. Expectation of food reward did not lead to a significant increase in vocalizations of any type, perhaps due to the young age of our study group. Further, rats that were food deprived for the food expectation study showed markedly lower calls overall and had a different profile of call types compared to rats that were socially isolated. Taken together, the results suggest that trill-associated calls may be used selectively when rats are socially isolated and/or expecting a social encounter.

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“…Male offspring were housed in litter-mate pairs and allowed food and water ad libitum until reaching maturity (3 months of age). Although recent research indicates there is a sexually dimorphic expression of USVs in rats ( Kisko et al., 2021 ), only male rats were included in the present study. This was due to resource limitations, to align with previous research in our laboratory, and to limit variation in the data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal immune activation alters the sequential structure of ultrasonic communications in male rats

Scott

Tashakori-Sabzevar

Bilkey

2021

Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health

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Maternal immune activation (MIA) is a risk factor for schizophrenia and many of the symptoms and neurodevelopmental changes associated with this disorder have been modelled in the rodent. While several previous studies have reported that rodent ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are affected by MIA, no previous study has examined whether MIA affects the way that individual USVs occur over time to produce vocalisation sequences. The sequential aspect of this behaviour may be particularly important because changes in sequencing mechanisms have been proposed as a core deficit in schizophrenia. The present research generates MIA with POLY I:C administered to pregnant Sprague-Dawley rat dams at GD15. Male pairs of MIA adult offspring or pairs of their saline controls were placed into a two-chamber apparatus where they were separated from each other by a perforated plexiglass barrier. USVs were recorded for a period of 10 min and automated detection and call review were used to classify short call types in the nominal 50 kHz band of social affiliative calls. Our data show that the duration of these 50-kHz USVs is longer in MIA rat pairs and the time between calls is shorter. Furthermore, the transition probability between call pairs was different in the MIA animals compared to the control group, indicating alterations in sequential behaviour. These results provide the first evidence that USV call sequencing is altered by the MIA intervention and suggest that further investigations of these temporally extended aspects of USV production are likely to reveal useful information about the mechanisms that underlie sequence generation. This is particularly important given previous research suggesting that sequencing deficits may have a significant impact on both behaviour and cognition.

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Sex differences in the acoustic features of social play‐induced 50‐kHz ultrasonic vocalizations: A detailed spectrographic analysis in wild‐type Sprague–Dawley and Cacna1c haploinsufficient rats

Cited by 18 publications

References 46 publications

Biological and Acoustic Sex Differences in Rat Ultrasonic Vocalization

Biological and Acoustic Sex Differences in Rat Ultrasonic Vocalization

Rat 50 kHz Trill Calls Are Tied to the Expectation of Social Interaction

Maternal immune activation alters the sequential structure of ultrasonic communications in male rats

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