Ultrasonic vocalizations by male mice (Mus musculus) to female sex pheromone: Experiential determinants

Dizinno, Gerard; Whitney, Glayde; Nyby, John

doi:10.1016/s0091-6773(78)92094-1

Cited by 126 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Bird song, for instance, typically functions to mark a male's territory and to attract females [23], while male baboon loud calls are used as displays of fighting ability as well as alarm calls [24]. The idea that mouse songs may serve different functions is compatible with the findings that the hormonal status of males has a crucial influence on whether the male starts to call [25] in response to females and that such call sequences can be elicited by female sex pheromones alone [26], [27]. It appears unlikely though that this is the sole function of these calls.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

The Structure and Usage of Female and Male Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations Reveal only Minor Differences

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) of mice are increasingly recognized as informative dependent variables in studies using mouse models of human diseases. While pup vocalizations primarily serve to re-establish contact with the mother, adult male “songs” were considered to be courtship signals. Alternatively, mouse USVs may generally function as territorial signals. To distinguish between these two hypotheses, we compared the structure and usage of adult male and female USVs in staged resident-intruder encounters. If calls function primarily as courtship signals, males should respond stronger than females, specifically when presented with a female intruder. Refuting this hypothesis, we found that in response to female intruders, females called more than males (228±32 calls/min vs. 71±15 calls/min), and males called more to female than to male intruders (14±7.5 calls/min). There were no significant differences in the acoustic characteristics of the calls given by females and males. To control for the influence of the intruder's behavior on calling, we repeated the experiments using anaesthetized intruders. Again, females produced more calls to female than male intruders (173±17 calls/min vs. 71±15 calls/min), while males called more in response to female than male intruders (39±17 calls/min), and there were no acoustic differences in female and male calls. The vocal activity did not differ significantly with regard to intruder state (awake or anaesthetized), while the acoustic structure exhibited significant differences. Taken together, our findings support the view that calls do not mainly function as courtship signals, although they might serve both a territorial (sex-independent) and a courtship function. The comparison of responses to awake vs. anaesthetized intruders suggests that the latter are sufficient to elicit vocal activity. The subtle acoustic differences, however, indicate that the subject differentiates between intruder states.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

The Structure and Usage of Female and Male Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations Reveal only Minor Differences

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Within a social context, male mice may produce ultrasonic vocalizations when they encounter a female mouse (particularly in estrus), or are exposed to female urinary pheromones [34], [54]–[56]. We found that when male BXD29- Tlr4 lps−2J /J mutant and BXD29/Ty wildtype mice were exposed to dirty female bedding (bedding containing estrus female urine), mutant mice spent a substantially greater amount of time emitting ultrasonic vocalizations as compared to wildtype mice (41% vs. 4% of session).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, when exposed to identical female dirty bedding, mutant BXD29- Tlr4 lps−2J /J mice emitted ultrasonic vocalizations for more than 40% of the total test session. This indicated that mutant mice were overtly sensitive to the dirty bedding stimulus, which resulted in a production level of vocal social behaviors more typical of that seen when a female is either physically present, or thought to be nearby [34], [54]–[56]. Thus, one interpretation could be that mutant males have impairments in processing pheromonal (social) information in terms of relevance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Behavioral Evaluation of Sex Differences in a Mouse Model of Severe Neuronal Migration Disorder

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Disruption of neuronal migration in humans is associated with a wide range of behavioral and cognitive outcomes including severe intellectual disability, language impairment, and social dysfunction. Furthermore, malformations of cortical development have been observed in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. autism and dyslexia), where boys are much more commonly diagnosed than girls (estimates around 4 to 1). The use of rodent models provides an excellent means to examine how sex may modulate behavioral outcomes in the presence of comparable abnormal neuroanatomical presentations. Initially characterized by Rosen et al. 2012, the BXD29- Tlr4lps−2J/J mouse mutant exhibits a highly penetrant neuroanatomical phenotype that consists of bilateral midline subcortical nodular heterotopia with partial callosal agenesis. In the current study, we confirm our initial findings of a severe impairment in rapid auditory processing in affected male mice. We also report that BXD29- Tlr4lps−2J/J (mutant) female mice show no sparing of rapid auditory processing, and in fact show deficits similar to mutant males. Interestingly, female BXD29- Tlr4lps−2J/J mice do display superiority in Morris water maze performance as compared to wild type females, an affect not seen in mutant males. Finally, we report new evidence that BXD29- Tlr4lps−2J/J mice, in general, show evidence of hyper-social behaviors. In closing, the use of the BXD29- Tlr4lps−2J/J strain of mice – with its strong behavioral and neuroanatomical phenotype – may be highly useful in characterizing sex independent versus dependent mechanisms that interact with neural reorganization, as well as clinically relevant abnormal behavior resulting from aberrant neuronal migration.

show abstract

“…Males exposed to females or female urine emit ultrasonic vocalizations that facilitate mating behavior in mice and rats [42–50]. In mice, ultrasonic calling is specifically seen in males exposed to female urine as male urine is ineffective [51–57]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female urine-induced male mice ultrasonic vocalizations, but not scent-marking, is modulated by social experience

Roullet

Wöhr

Crawley

2011

Behavioural Brain Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the evidence for a communicative function of rodent scent marks and ultrasonic vocalizations, relatively little is known about the impact of social factors on these two forms of communication. Here, we tested the effects of two important social factors, prior exposure to a female and freshness of female urine, on male scent marks and ultrasonic vocalizations elicited by female urine. We also asked whether a recently reported strain difference between the highly social strain C57BL/6J (B6) and the mouse model of autism BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR) herein is specifically seen in response to female urine or also detectable in response to male urine traces. Results show that the emission of female urine-elicited ultrasonic vocalizations was dependent on previous female experience, while scent-marking behavior was not affected. A positive correlation was detected between scent-marking behavior and ultrasonic calling in the most biologically relevant context, male mice exposed to fresh female urine after female experience. Correlations were less prominent or missing in less biologically relevant contexts, e.g. in male mice exposed to fresh female urine without previous female experience, indicating that previous female experience is affecting both the emission of female urine-elicited ultrasonic vocalizations and the correlation between olfactory and acoustic communication. The strain difference in scent-marking behavior and ultrasonic calling between B6 and BTBR appears to be specific to female urine-elicited behavior as it was not seen in response to male urine traces, highlighting the relevance of the social context in which mouse communication is evaluated.

show abstract

Ultrasonic vocalizations by male mice (Mus musculus) to female sex pheromone: Experiential determinants

Cited by 126 publications

References 10 publications

The Structure and Usage of Female and Male Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations Reveal only Minor Differences

The Structure and Usage of Female and Male Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations Reveal only Minor Differences

A Behavioral Evaluation of Sex Differences in a Mouse Model of Severe Neuronal Migration Disorder

Female urine-induced male mice ultrasonic vocalizations, but not scent-marking, is modulated by social experience

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About