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Beck J, Wernisch B, Klaus T, Penn DJ, Zala SM. Attraction of female house mice to male ultrasonic courtship vocalizations depends on their social experience and estrous stage. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0285642. [PMID: 37816035 PMCID: PMC10564145 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Male house mice (Mus musculus) produce complex ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), especially during courtship and mating. Playback experiments suggest that female attraction towards recordings of male USVs depends on their social experience, paternal exposure, and estrous stage. We conducted a playback experiment with wild-derived female house mice (M. musculus musculus) and compared their attraction to male USVs versus the same recording without USVs (background noise). We tested whether female attraction to USVs is influenced by the following factors: (1) social housing (two versus one female per cage); (2) neonatal paternal exposure (rearing females with versus without father); and (3) estrous stage. We found that females showed a significant attraction to male USVs but only when they were housed socially with another female. Individually housed females showed the opposite response. We found no evidence that pre-weaning exposure to a father influenced females' preferences, whereas estrous stage influenced females' attraction to male USVs: females not in estrus showed preferences towards male USVs, whereas estrous females did not. Finally, we found that individually housed females were more likely to be in sexually receptive estrous stages than those housed socially, and that attraction to male USVs was most pronounced amongst non-receptive females that were socially housed. Our findings indicate that the attraction of female mice to male USVs depends upon their social experience and estrous stage, though not paternal exposure. They contribute to the growing number of studies showing that social housing and estrous stage can influence the behavior of house mice and we show how such unreported variables can contribute to the replication crisis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Beck
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Bettina Wernisch
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Teresa Klaus
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dustin J. Penn
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sarah M. Zala
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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2
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Wilson EN, Mabry S, Bradshaw JL, Gardner JJ, Rybalchenko N, Engelland R, Fadeyibi O, Osikoya O, Cushen SC, Goulopoulou S, Cunningham RL. Gestational hypoxia in late pregnancy differentially programs subcortical brain maturation in male and female rat offspring. Biol Sex Differ 2022; 13:54. [PMID: 36175941 PMCID: PMC9524087 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-022-00463-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hypoxia is associated with pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia, placental abruption, and gestational sleep apnea. Hypoxic insults during gestation can impact the brain maturation of cortical and subcortical pathways, such as the nigrostriatal pathway. However, the long-term effects of in utero hypoxic stress exposure on brain maturation in offspring are unclear, especially exposure during late gestation. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of gestational hypoxia in late pregnancy on developmental programming of subcortical brain maturation by focusing on the nigrostriatal pathway. Methods Timed pregnant Long–Evans rats were exposed to chronic intermittent hypoxia or room air normoxia from gestational day (GD) 15–19 (term 22–23 days). Male and female offspring were assessed during two critical periods: puberty from postnatal day (PND) 40–45 or young adulthood (PND 60–65). Brain maturation was quantified by examining (1) the structural development of the nigrostriatal pathway via analysis of locomotor behaviors and the substantia nigra dopaminergic neuronal cell bodies and (2) the refinement of the nigrostriatal pathway by quantifying ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). Results The major findings of this study are gestational hypoxia has age- and sex-dependent effects on subcortical brain maturation in offspring by adversely impacting the refinement of the nigrostriatal pathway in the absence of any effects on the structural development of the pathway. During puberty, female offspring were impacted more than male offspring, as evidenced by decreased USV call frequency, chirp USV call duration, and simple call frequency. In contrast, male offspring were impacted more than female offspring during young adulthood, as evidenced by increased latency to first USV, decreased simple USV call intensity, and increased harmonic USV call bandwidth. No effects of gestational hypoxia on the structural development of the nigrostriatal pathway were observed. Conclusions These novel findings demonstrate hypoxic insults during pregnancy mediate developmental programming of the cortical and subcortical pathways, in which male offspring exhibit long-term adverse effects compared to female offspring. Impairment of cortical and subcortical pathways maturation, such as the nigrostriatal pathway, may increase risk for neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g., mood disorders, cognitive dysfunction, brain connectivity dysfunction). Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13293-022-00463-x. Brain maturation of the nigrostriatal pathway is sex- and age- dependent. Exposure to hypoxia in late pregnancy impacts brain maturation of the nigrostriatal pathway that can be observed during puberty and young adulthood. Gestational hypoxia impacted female offspring during puberty more than males, whereas it impacted male offspring during young adulthood more than females. These novel findings demonstrate that hypoxic insults during pregnancy mediate developmental programming of the cortical and subcortical pathways, in which male offspring exhibit long-term adverse effects compared to female offspring. Long-term adverse effects of gestational hypoxia in offspring can occur in the absence of pregnancy complications, especially if they occur within critical embryological developmental periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Nicole Wilson
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Steve Mabry
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Jessica L Bradshaw
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Jennifer J Gardner
- Department of Physiology and Anatomy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Nataliya Rybalchenko
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Rachel Engelland
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Oluwadarasimi Fadeyibi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Oluwatobiloba Osikoya
- Department of Physiology and Anatomy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Spencer C Cushen
- Department of Physiology and Anatomy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA.,Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
| | - Styliani Goulopoulou
- Department of Physiology and Anatomy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA.,Department of Basic Sciences, Lawrence D. Longo, MD Center for Perinatal Biology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92350, USA
| | - Rebecca L Cunningham
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA.
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3
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Furuyama T, Shigeyama T, Ono M, Yamaki S, Kobayasi KI, Kato N, Yamamoto R. Vocalization during agonistic encounter in Mongolian gerbils: Impact of sexual experience. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0272402. [PMID: 35917294 PMCID: PMC9345364 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Behaviors and vocalizations associated with aggression are essential for animals to survive, reproduce, and organize social hierarchy. Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) are highly aggressive and frequently emit calls. We took advantage of these features to study the relationship between vocalizations and aggressive behaviors in virgin and sexually experienced male and female Mongolian gerbils through the same-sex resident-intruder test. Both sexes of resident gerbils exhibited aggressive responses toward intruders. Multiparous females exhibited the most aggressive responses among the four groups. We also confirmed two groups of vocalizations during the encounters: high-frequency (>24.6 kHz) and low-frequency (<24.6 kHz). At the timing of high-frequency vocalizations observed during the tests, the vast majority (96.2%) of the behavioral interactions were non-agonistic. While, at the timing of low-frequency vocalizations observed during the tests, around half (45%) of the behavioral interactions were agonistic. Low-frequency vocalizations were observed mainly during encounters in which multiparous females were involved. These results suggest that high- and low-frequency vocalizations relate to non-agonistic and agonistic interactions, respectively. In addition to affecting aggressive behavior, sexual experience also affects vocalization during encounters. These findings provide new insights into the modulatory effects of sex and sexual experience on vocalizations during agonistic encounters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takafumi Furuyama
- Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
- * E-mail: (RY); (TF)
| | - Takafumi Shigeyama
- Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Munenori Ono
- Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Sachiko Yamaki
- Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Kohta I. Kobayasi
- Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Nobuo Kato
- Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Ryo Yamamoto
- Department of Physiology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
- * E-mail: (RY); (TF)
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Hoglen NEG, Manoli DS. Cupid's quiver: Integrating sensory cues in rodent mating systems. Front Neural Circuits 2022; 16:944895. [PMID: 35958042 PMCID: PMC9358210 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.944895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In many animal species, males and females exploit different mating strategies, display sex-typical behaviors, and use distinct systems to recognize ethologically relevant cues. Mate selection thus requires mutual recognition across diverse social interactions based on distinct sensory signals. These sex differences in courtship and mating behaviors correspond to differences in sensory systems and downstream neural substrates engaged to recognize and respond to courtship signals. In many rodents, males tend to rely heavily on volatile olfactory and pheromone cues, while females appear to be guided more by a combination of these chemosensory signals with acoustic cues in the form of ultrasonic vocalizations. The mechanisms by which chemical and acoustic cues are integrated to control behavior are understudied in mating but are known to be important in the control of maternal behaviors. Socially monogamous species constitute a behaviorally distinct group of rodents. In these species, anatomic differences between males and females outside the nervous system are less prominent than in species with non-monogamous mating systems, and both sexes engage in more symmetric social behaviors and form attachments. Nevertheless, despite the apparent similarities in behaviors displayed by monogamous males and females, the circuitry supporting social, mating, and attachment behaviors in these species is increasingly thought to differ between the sexes. Sex differences in sensory modalities most important for mate recognition in across species are of particular interest and present a wealth of questions yet to be answered. Here, we discuss how distinct sensory cues may be integrated to drive social and attachment behaviors in rodents, and the differing roles of specific sensory systems in eliciting displays of behavior by females or males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nerissa E G Hoglen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Devanand S Manoli
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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Darwaiz T, Pasch B, Riede T. Postnatal remodeling of the laryngeal airway removes body size dependency of spectral features for ultrasonic whistling in laboratory mice. J Zool (1987) 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.13003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- T. Darwaiz
- Department of Physiology, College of Graduate Studies Midwestern University Glendale Glendale Arizona USA
| | - B. Pasch
- Department of Biological Sciences Northern Arizona University Flagstaff Arizona USA
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment The University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
| | - T. Riede
- Department of Physiology, College of Graduate Studies Midwestern University Glendale Glendale Arizona USA
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Caruso A, Marconi MA, Scattoni ML, Ricceri L. Ultrasonic vocalizations in laboratory mice: strain, age, and sex differences. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 21:e12815. [PMID: 35689354 PMCID: PMC9744514 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Mice produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in different social contexts across lifespan. There is ethological evidence that pup USVs elicit maternal retrieval and adult USVs facilitate social interaction with a conspecific. Analysis of mouse vocal and social repertoire across strains, sex and contexts remains not well explored. To address these issues, in inbred (C57BL/6, FVB) and outbred (CD-1) mouse strains, we recorded and evaluated USVs as neonates and during adult social encounters (male-female and female-female social interaction). We showed significant strain differences in the quantitative (call rate and duration of USVs) and qualitative vocal analysis (spectrographic characterization) from early stage to adulthood, in line with specific patterns of social behaviors. Inbred C57BL/6 mice produced a lower number of calls with less internal changes and shorter duration; inbred FVB mice displayed more social behaviors and produced more syllables with repeated internal changes; outbred CD-1 mice had an intermediate profile. Our results suggest specific vocal signatures in each mouse strain, thus helping to better define socio-communicative profiles of mouse strains and to guide the choice of an appropriate strain according to the experimental settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Caruso
- Research Coordination and Support ServiceIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
| | - Maria Adelaide Marconi
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life SciencesUniversity of Veterinary MedicineViennaAustria
| | | | - Laura Ricceri
- Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental HealthIstituto Superiore di SanitàRomeItaly
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Capas-Peneda S, Saavedra Torres Y, Prins JB, Olsson IAS. From Mating to Milk Access: A Review of Reproductive Vocal Communication in Mice. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:833168. [PMID: 35418843 PMCID: PMC8995852 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.833168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocalisations play a central role in rodent communication, especially in reproduction related behaviours. In adult mice (Mus musculus) the emission of ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs) has been observed in courtship and mating behaviour, especially by males. These have been found to have distinctive individual signatures that influence female choice of mating partner. The most recent findings show that vocal communication also has a role in parental cooperation, in that female mice communicate with male partners in ultrasonic frequencies to induce paternal behaviour. Infant vocalisations form the other important part of reproductive vocal communication. Although born deaf, neonatal mice are capable of producing vocalisations since birth. As an altricial species, successful mother-infant communication is essential for survival, and these vocalisations are important modulators of maternal behaviour. Three main types of infant vocalisations have been identified and characterised. Most research has addressed pure USVs, related to stressful situations (e.g., cold, isolation, handling, presence of unfamiliar males or predators), which usually elicit maternal search and retrieval. In addition, broad-band spectrum signals, emitted post-partum during cleaning of foetal membranes, inhibit biting and injury by adults and “wriggling calls,” emitted during suckling, release maternal behaviour (such as licking). Several variables have been identified to modulate vocalisations in mice, including individual characteristics such as strain/genotype, age, sex, and experimental factors such as pharmacological compounds and social context. In recent years, there has been a big increase in the knowledge about the characteristics of vocal communication in rodents due to recent technological advances as well as a growing interest from the neuroscience community. Vocalisation analysis has become an essential tool for phenotyping and evaluating emotional states. In this review, we will (i) provide a comprehensive summary of the current knowledge on mouse reproductive vocal communication and (ii) discuss the most recent findings in order to provide a broad overview on this topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Capas-Peneda
- Biological Research Facility, Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
- i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- ICBAS – School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- *Correspondence: Sara Capas-Peneda,
| | | | - Jan-Bas Prins
- Biological Research Facility, Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
- Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - I. Anna S. Olsson
- i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- ICBAS – School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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Sexual excitation induces courtship ultrasonic vocalizations and cataplexy-like behavior in orexin neuron-ablated male mice. Commun Biol 2021; 4:165. [PMID: 33547399 PMCID: PMC7864915 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01696-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cataplexy is triggered by laughter in humans and palatable food in mice. To further evaluate mice’s cataplexy, we examined courtship behavior in orexin neuron-ablated mice (ORX-AB), one of the animal models of narcolepsy/cataplexy. Wild-type female mice were placed into the home cage of male ORX-AB and cataplexy-like behavior was observed along with ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), also known as the “love song”. ORX-AB with a female encounter showed cataplexy-like behavior both during the dark and light periods, whereas ORX-AB with chocolate predominantly showed it during the dark period. During the light period observation, more than 85% of cataplexy-like bouts were preceded by USVs. A strong positive correlation was observed between the number of USVs and cataplexy-like bouts. Cataplexy-like behavior in narcoleptic mice is a good behavioral measure to study the brain mechanisms behind positive emotion because they can be induced by different kinds of positive stimuli, including chocolate and female courtship. Kuwaki and Kanno examine courtship behavior in orexin neuron-ablated mice (ORX-AB), which are a model of narcolepsy/cataplexy. They find that ORX-AB mice showed cataplexy-like behavior during both dark and light periods in response to a female encounter, however this behavior was predominantly present 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.
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Zala SM, Nicolakis D, Marconi MA, Noll A, Ruf T, Balazs P, Penn DJ. Primed to vocalize: Wild-derived male house mice increase vocalization rate and diversity after a previous encounter with a female. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0242959. [PMID: 33296411 PMCID: PMC7725367 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Males in a wide variety of taxa, including insects, birds and mammals, produce vocalizations to attract females. Male house mice emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), especially during courtship and mating, which are surprising complex. It is often suggested that male mice vocalize at higher rates after interacting with a female, but the evidence is mixed depending upon the strain of mice. We conducted a study with wild-derived house mice (Mus musculus musculus) to test whether male courtship vocalizations (i.e., vocalizations emitted in a sexual context) are influenced by a prior direct interaction with a female, and if so, determine how long the effect lasts. We allowed sexually naïve males to directly interact with a female for five minutes (sexual priming), and then we recorded males'vocalizations either 1, 10, 20, or 30 days later when presented with an unfamiliar female (separated by a perforated partition) and female scent. We automatically detected USVs and processed recordings using the Automatic Mouse Ultrasound Detector (A-MUD version 3.2), and we describe our improved version of this tool and tests of its performance. We measured vocalization rate and spectro-temporal features and we manually classified USVs into 15 types to investigate priming effects on vocal repertoire diversity and composition. After sexual priming, males emitted nearly three times as many USVs, they had a larger repertoire diversity, and their vocalizations had different spectro-temporal features (USV length, slope and variability in USV frequency) compared to unprimed controls. Unprimed control males had the most distinctive repertoire composition compared to the primed groups. Most of the effects were found when comparing unprimed to all primed males (treatment models), irrespective of the time since priming. Timepoint models showed that USV length increased 1 day after priming, that repertoire diversity increased 1 and 20 days after priming, and that the variability of USV frequencies was lower 20 and 30 days after priming. Our results show that wild-derived male mice increased the number and diversity of courtship vocalizations if they previously interacted with a female. Thus, the USVs of house mice are not only context-dependent, they depend upon previous social experience and perhaps the contexts of these experiences. The effect of sexual priming on male courtship vocalizations is likely mediated by neuro-endocrine-mechanisms, which may function to advertise males' sexual arousal and facilitate social recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Zala
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Doris Nicolakis
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Anton Noll
- Acoustic Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Ruf
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Peter Balazs
- Acoustic Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dustin J. Penn
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
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Sasaki E, Tomita Y, Kanno K. Sex differences in vocalizations to familiar or unfamiliar females in mice. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:201529. [PMID: 33489288 PMCID: PMC7813254 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Mice, both wild and laboratory strains, emit ultrasound to communicate. The sex differences between male to female (male-female) and female to female (female-female) ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) have been discussed for decades. In the present study, we compared the number of USVs emitted to familiar and unfamiliar females by both males (male-female USVs) and females (female-female USVs). We found that females vocalized more to unfamiliar than to familiar females. By contrast, males exhibited more USVs to familiar partners. This sexually dimorphic behaviour suggests that mice change their vocal behaviour in response to the social context, and their perception of the context is based on social cognition and memory. In addition, because males vocalized more to familiar females, USVs appear to be not only a response to novel objects or individuals, but also a social response.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kouta Kanno
- Author for correspondence: Kouta Kanno e-mail:
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Marconi MA, Nicolakis D, Abbasi R, Penn DJ, Zala SM. Ultrasonic courtship vocalizations of male house mice contain distinct individual signatures. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Nicolakis D, Marconi MA, Zala SM, Penn DJ. Ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice depend upon genetic relatedness of mating partners and correlate with subsequent reproductive success. Front Zool 2020; 17:10. [PMID: 32265997 PMCID: PMC7118824 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-020-00353-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Courtship vocalizations are used by males of many species to attract and influence the behavior of potential mating partners. Our aim here was to investigate the modulation and reproductive consequences of courtship ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in wild-derived house mice (Mus musculus musculus). The courtship USVs of male mice are surprisingly complex and are composed of a variety of different syllable types. Our specific aims were to test whether (1) the emission of courtship USVs depends upon the kinship of a potential mating partner, and (2) whether USV emission during courtship affects the pairs’ subsequent reproductive success. Results We experimentally presented males with an unfamiliar female that was either genetically related or unrelated, and we recorded USV emission, first while the sexes were separated by a perforated partition and then during direct interactions, after removing the partition. USVs were detected by the Automatic Mouse Ultrasound Detector (A-MUD) and manually classified into 15 syllable types. The mice were kept together to test whether and how courtship vocalizations predict their subsequent reproductive success. We found that the mice significantly increased their amount of vocalizations (vocal performance) and number of syllable types (vocal repertoire) after the partition was removed and they began interacting directly. We show that unrelated pairs emitted longer and more complex USVs compared to related pairs during direct interactions. Unrelated pairs also had a greater reproductive success compared to related pairs, and in addition we found a negative correlation between the mean length and amount of vocalizations with the latency to their first litter. Conclusion Our study provides evidence that house mice modulate the emission of courtship USVs depending upon the kinship of potential mating partners, and that courtship USVs correlate with reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doris Nicolakis
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Savoyenstraße 1a, 1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Adelaide Marconi
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Savoyenstraße 1a, 1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Sarah M Zala
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Savoyenstraße 1a, 1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Dustin J Penn
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Savoyenstraße 1a, 1160 Vienna, Austria
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Tachibana RO, Kanno K, Okabe S, Kobayasi KI, Okanoya K. USVSEG: A robust method for segmentation of ultrasonic vocalizations in rodents. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0228907. [PMID: 32040540 PMCID: PMC7010259 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Rodents' ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) provide useful information for assessing their social behaviors. Despite previous efforts in classifying subcategories of time-frequency patterns of USV syllables to study their functional relevance, methods for detecting vocal elements from continuously recorded data have remained sub-optimal. Here, we propose a novel procedure for detecting USV segments in continuous sound data containing background noise recorded during the observation of social behavior. The proposed procedure utilizes a stable version of the sound spectrogram and additional signal processing for better separation of vocal signals by reducing the variation of the background noise. Our procedure also provides precise time tracking of spectral peaks within each syllable. We demonstrated that this procedure can be applied to a variety of USVs obtained from several rodent species. Performance tests showed this method had greater accuracy in detecting USV syllables than conventional detection methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryosuke O. Tachibana
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- * E-mail:
| | - Kouta Kanno
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, Course of Psychology, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Law, Economics and the Humanities, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Shota Okabe
- Division of Brain and Neurophysiology, Department of Physiology, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan
| | - Kohta I. Kobayasi
- Graduate School of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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