Review
Acoustics
Kylie Yao, Maria Bergamasco, Maria Luisa Scattoni, Adam P. Vogel
Summary: Mice use audible vocalizations and ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) to communicate. USVs, above the upper limit of human hearing, are produced in social contexts like pup separation, territoriality, and courting. Similar to birdsong, USVs in mice are used as a model to study human communication, particularly in neurodevelopmental conditions like autism spectrum disorders and Rett syndrome. The true vocal contribution of individual mice can be better discerned if the upper limit of human hearing is extended, which requires improving sound-localizing technology.
JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
S. Abhirami, Swapna Agarwalla, Anandaroop Bhattacharya, Sharba Bandyopadhyay
Summary: The role of the laryngeal cavity and the alar edge in mouse ultrasonic vocalizations has been studied using simulations, and evidence supporting their importance in call characteristics has been found.
Article
Biology
C. J. Burke, S. M. Pellis, E. J. M. Achterberg
Summary: Social play in rats is vital for brain development and social skills, and the vocalizations emitted during play are believed to represent positive affective states. By comparing associations between ultrasonic vocalizations and behavior in heterospecific and conspecific play, it was found that the usage of different types of calls differed significantly.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Babina Sanjel, Won-Sik Shim
Summary: This article summarizes mouse models of atopic dermatitis (AD) and describes their characteristics from a researcher's perspective.
BIOCHEMICAL PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Markus Woehr
Summary: Rats emit 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations in appetitive situations, particularly elicited by d-amphetamine, and can serve as a reliable measure for assessing elevated mood in rats. Pharmacological interventions can modulate this vocalization, providing new insights into manic behaviors and potential therapeutic targets.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Aaron M. Johnson, Charles Lenell, Elizabeth Severa, Denis Michael Rudisch, Robert A. Morrison, Adrianna C. Shembel
Summary: This article introduces a semi-automated method for training rats to increase their rate of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) production. By pairing operant conditioning equipment with an ultrasonic detection system, USV training can be automated, reducing human variability and increasing scalability and reproducibility. This semi-automated USV behavioral training paradigm improves upon manual training techniques by increasing the ease, speed, and quality of data collection.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Tomoyuki Kuwaki, Kouta Kanno
Summary: The study examined courtship behavior in orexin neuron-ablated mice (ORX-AB), a model of narcolepsy/cataplexy, and found that these mice displayed cataplexy-like behavior in response to female encounter, with a predominant presence during dark periods when exposed to chocolate. Studying cataplexy-like behavior in narcoleptic mice is useful for understanding mechanisms behind positive emotions, such as those associated with chocolate and courtship.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Yara Silberstein, Felix Felmy, Marina Scheumann
Summary: This study investigates the extent to which vocalizations of developing Mongolian gerbil pups fulfill common rules for the encoding of arousal and physical characteristics of the sender. Results show that encoding rules for different call types and developmental stages differ and only partially confirm the common rules suggested for mammals.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Yizhaq Goussha, Kfir Bar, Shai Netser, Lior Cohen, Yacov Hel-Or, Shlomo Wagner
Summary: This article introduces a audio analysis tool called HybridMouse, which combines convolutional neural networks and recurrent neural networks to automatically identify, label and extract recorded mouse vocalizations. After training, HybridMouse outperforms the commonly used benchmark model in accuracy and precision, and it does not require user input and produces reliable detection and analysis results even under harsh experimental conditions.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Kyrie-Anne E. Reyes, Priya S. Kudva, Benjamin Heckler, Angela E. Gonzalez, Barbara A. Sorg
Summary: The emission of 50 kHz frequency-modulated ultrasonic vocalizations (FM USVs) in rats is linked to positive affective states, while a decrease in FM USVs is associated with anxiety-like states. Research indicates that FM USVs may serve as an index of fear or anxiety-like memory in rats, and changes in FM USVs following fear conditioning can be used to evaluate reduction of aversive memories in pre-clinical animal models.
NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Miranda J. Cullins, Charles Lenell, Michelle R. Ciucci, Nadine P. Connor
Summary: Stroke can lead to communication impairments and negatively affect quality of life and recovery, and the biological mechanisms behind these changes are not well understood. This study used ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in rat stroke models to better understand the biological mechanisms and vocal deficits after stroke. The results showed that stroke led to changes in USV acoustics, which were also correlated with lingual weakness post stroke. This is the first study to describe changes in rat USVs using a stroke model.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Sihao Lu, Grace W. Y. Ang, Mark Steadman, Andriy S. Kozlov
Summary: A central question in sensory neuroscience is how neurons represent complex natural stimuli. Through studying birds and mice, it has been found that neurons in their sensory systems have composite receptive fields. Therefore, our research suggests that composite receptive fields may be a common property of central auditory systems.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Emilie Bartsoen, Markus Woehr
Summary: Adult male rats emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) at 22-kHz and 50-kHz frequencies during the acoustic startle response test. The 22-kHz calls indicate a negative affective state, while the 50-kHz calls indicate a positive affective state.
PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kayleigh E. E. Hood, Eden Long, Eric Navarro, Laura M. M. Hurley
Summary: While male vocalizations during opposite-sex interaction have been extensively studied, the roles of female vocal signals in this context remain less understood. Female mice produce human-audible squeaks, known as broadband vocalizations (BBVs), which may be related to defensive aggression. To assess the direct effect of BBVs on male behavior, a split-cage paradigm was used where playback of BBVs decreased male ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). Adaptation to BBV playback occurred more rapidly in individually-housed males compared to socially-housed males, suggesting that social experience influences the dynamics of communicative behavior between male and female mice.
Article
Neurosciences
Kate A. Lawson, Abigail Y. Flores, Rachael E. Hokenson, Christina M. Ruiz, Stephen V. Mahler
Summary: In this study, it was found that systemic administration of the DREADD agonist clozapine-n-oxide suppressed the number of frequency-modulated and trill-containing USVs without impacting high frequency, unmodulated (flat) USVs. These results confirm that nucleus accumbens neurons are essential for the production of amphetamine-induced frequency-modulated USVs.