Principles of Rat Communication: Quantitative Parameters of Ultrasonic Calls in Rats

Brudzyński, Stefan M.

doi:10.1007/s10519-004-0858-3

Cited by 211 publications

(184 citation statements)

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“…USVs serve as ethologically-critical social signals (Brudzynski, 2005;Litvin et al, 2007) and offer a unique window into the emotional state of the animal (Borta et al, 2006;Brudzynski, 2007;Knutson et al, 2002;Panksepp, 2007). Rats emit USVs at frequencies of ~22 kHz and ~50 kHz in conjunction with negative and positive emotional states, respectively (see Brudzynski, 2007;Knutson et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So-called "22 kHz USVs" range in frequency from 18 to 32 kHz (Brudzynski, 2005). Common eliciting circumstances include defeat by a conspecific, confrontation by a predator, or the presence of other threatening or aversive stimuli (Blanchard et al, 1991;Brudzynski & Holland, 2005;Cuomo et al, 1988), which can include conditional stimuli (CSs) that predict aversive outcomes (Choi & Brown, 2003;Lee et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Common eliciting circumstances include defeat by a conspecific, confrontation by a predator, or the presence of other threatening or aversive stimuli (Blanchard et al, 1991;Brudzynski & Holland, 2005;Cuomo et al, 1988), which can include conditional stimuli (CSs) that predict aversive outcomes (Choi & Brown, 2003;Lee et al, 2001). Twenty-two kHz USVs are said to function as "alarm" or "defeat" signals (Blanchard et al, 1991;Brudzynski, 2005;Knutson et al, 2002;Litvin et al, 2007), but they also occur in association with ejaculation (Barfield & Geyer, 1972;Brown, 1979;Choi & Brown, 2003). Their elicitation is thought to be controlled by the muscarinic action of the ascending cholinergic system (Brudzynski, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Asymmetrical stimulus generalization following differential fear conditioning

Bang

Allen

Jones

et al. 2008

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

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Rodent ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are ethologically critical social signals. Rats emit 22 kHz USVs and 50 kHz USVs, respectively, in conjunction with negative and positive affective states. Little is known about what controls emotional reactivity to these social signals. Using male SpragueDawley rats, we examined unconditional and conditional freezing behavior in response to the following auditory stimuli: three 22 kHz USVs, a discontinuous tone whose frequency and on-off pattern matched one of the USVs, a continuous tone with the same or lower frequencies, a 4 kHz discontinuous tone with an on-off pattern matched to one of the USVs, and a 50 kHz USV. There were no differences among these stimuli in terms of the unconditional elicitation of freezing behavior. Thus, the stimuli were equally neutral before conditioning. During differential fear conditioning, one of these stimuli (the CS + ) always co-terminated with a footshock unconditional stimulus (US) and another stimulus (the CS − ) was explicitly unpaired with the US. There were no significant differences among these cues in CS + -elicited freezing behavior. Thus, the stimuli were equally salient or effective as cues in supporting fear conditioning. When the CS + was a 22 kHz USV or a similar stimulus, rats discriminated based on the principal frequency and/or the temporal pattern of the stimulus. However, when these same stimuli served as the CS − , discrimination failed due to generalization from the CS + . Thus, the stimuli differed markedly in the specificity of conditioning. This strikingly asymmetrical stimulus generalization is a novel bias in discrimination.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Asymmetrical stimulus generalization following differential fear conditioning

Bang

Allen

Jones

et al. 2008

Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

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“…The biological meaning of variation of USVs frequency in the adult mouse has been only sporadically investigated [30,38,54]. In rats, USV frequency has been related to aversive and appetitive states [8,28]. Further, rat "alarm calls" at 22 kHz are recorded immediately after or before aversive experiences, whereas mouse 50-kHz USVs are typically emitted concomitantly with positive social interactions [37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduced ultrasonic vocalizations in vasopressin 1b knockout mice

Scattoni¹,

McFarlane²,

Zhodzishsky³

et al. 2008

Behavioural Brain Research

129

114

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The neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin have been implicated in rodent social and affiliative behaviors, including social bonding, parental care, social recognition, social memory, vocalizations, territoriality, and aggression, as well as components of human social behaviors and the etiology of autism. Previous investigations of mice with various manipulations of the oxytocin and vasopressin systems reported unusual levels of ultrasonic vocalizations in social settings. We employed a vasopressin 1b receptor (Avpr1b) knockout mouse to evaluate the role of the vasopressin 1b receptor subtype in the emission of ultrasonic vocalizations in adult and infant mice. Avpr1b null mutant female mice emitted fewer ultrasonic vocalizations, and their vocalizations were generally at lower frequencies, during a resident-intruder test. Avpr1b null mutant pups emitted ultrasonic vocalizations similar to heterozygote and wildtype littermates when separated from the nest on postnatal days 3, 6, 9, and 12. However, maternal potentiation of ultrasonic vocalizations in Avpr1b null and heterozygote mutants was absent, when tested at postnatal day 9. These results indicate that Avpr1b null mutant mice are impaired in the modulation of ultrasonic vocalizations within different social contexts at infant and adult ages.

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“…In addition to conveying information appertaining to affective states, 50-kHz USVs are suggested to fulfil important communicative functions and to be involved in the establishment and maintenance of close social contacts [44,[55][56][57][58]. Rats use low-frequency (22-kHz) alarm calls as a warning to conspecifics of imminent dangers, with a view to promoting a survival-enhancing behavioural strategy in the colony as a whole [59][60][61]. 22-kHz USVs can be elicited by pharmacological stimulation of the lateral PAG [62], but also by electrical stimulation of the dorsal (dorsomedial + dorsolateral) and even ventrolateral PAG [63].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduction in 50-kHz call-numbers and suppression of tickling-associated positive affective behaviour after lesioning of the lateral hypothalamic parvafox nucleus in rats

Roccaro-Waldmeyer

Babalian

Müller

et al. 2016

Behavioural Brain Research

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h i g h l i g h t s• Wistar rats were tickled before and after excitotoxic lesioning of the lateral hypothalamic parvafox nucleus.• Ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs) that were emitted during the tickling of rats and their tendency to approach and follow the experimenter's hand were analysed.• Lesioning was considered successful if the number of parvalbuminimmunoreactive (PV-ir) cells in the area of the parvafox nucleus was reduced beyond a threshold level.• Rats with bilaterally successful lesions manifested the most profound surgery-associated reduction in the number of 50-kHz USVs and in the tendency to approach and follow the experimenter's hand.• Positive correlations were found between each of the four investigated parameters. g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c tThe parvafox nucleus is located ventrolaterally in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA). Its core and shell are composed of neurons expressing the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV) and the transcription factor Foxb1, respectively. Given the known functions of the LHA and that the parvafox nucleus receives afferents from the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and projects to the periaqueductal gray matter, a functional role of this entity in the expression of positive emotions has been postulated.The purpose of the present study was to ascertain whether the deletion of neurons in the parvafox nucleus influenced the tickling-induced 50-kHz calls, which are thought to reflect positive affective states, in rats. To this end, tickling of the animals (heterospecific play) was combined with intracerebral injections of the excitotoxin kainic acid into the parvafox nucleus.The most pronounced surgery-associated reduction in 50-kHz call-numbers was observed in the group of rats in which, on the basis of PV-immunoreactive-cell counts in the parvafox nucleus, bilateral lesions had been successfully produced. Two other parameters that were implemented to quantify positive affective behaviour, namely, an approach towards and a following of the hand of the tickling * Corresponding author at: Institute of Anatomy, University of Fribourg, Rte A. Gockel 1, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.E-mail address: marco.celio@unifr.ch (M.R. Celio). 1Published in which should be cited to refer to this work.http://doc.rero.ch experimenter, were likewise most markedly suppressed in the group of rats with bilaterally successful lesions. Furthermore, positive correlations were found between each of the investigated parameters. Our data afford evidence that the parvafox nucleus plays a role in the production of 50-kHz calls in rats, and, more generally, in the expression of positive emotions.

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Principles of Rat Communication: Quantitative Parameters of Ultrasonic Calls in Rats

Cited by 211 publications

References 50 publications

Asymmetrical stimulus generalization following differential fear conditioning

Asymmetrical stimulus generalization following differential fear conditioning

Reduced ultrasonic vocalizations in vasopressin 1b knockout mice

Reduction in 50-kHz call-numbers and suppression of tickling-associated positive affective behaviour after lesioning of the lateral hypothalamic parvafox nucleus in rats

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