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Sex-dependent modulation of ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice (Mus musculus musculus)

House mice (Mus musculus) emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), which are surprisingly complex and have features of bird song, but their functions are not well understood. Previous studies have reported mixed evidence on whether there are sex differences in USV emission, though vocalization rate or...

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Autores principales: Zala, Sarah M., Reitschmidt, Doris, Noll, Anton, Balazs, Peter, Penn, Dustin J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5728457/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29236704
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188647
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author Zala, Sarah M.
Reitschmidt, Doris
Noll, Anton
Balazs, Peter
Penn, Dustin J.
author_facet Zala, Sarah M.
Reitschmidt, Doris
Noll, Anton
Balazs, Peter
Penn, Dustin J.
author_sort Zala, Sarah M.
collection PubMed
description House mice (Mus musculus) emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), which are surprisingly complex and have features of bird song, but their functions are not well understood. Previous studies have reported mixed evidence on whether there are sex differences in USV emission, though vocalization rate or other features may depend upon whether potential receivers are of the same or opposite sex. We recorded the USVs of wild-derived adult house mice (F1 of wild-caught Mus musculus musculus), and we compared the vocalizations of males and females in response to a stimulus mouse of the same- or opposite-sex. To detect and quantify vocalizations, we used an algorithm that automatically detects USVs (Automatic Mouse Ultrasound Detector or A-MUD). We found high individual variation in USV emission rates (4 to 2083 elements/10 min trial) and a skewed distribution, with most mice (60%) emitting few (≤50) elements. We found no differences in the rates of calling between the sexes overall, but mice of both sexes emitted vocalizations at a higher rate and higher frequencies during opposite- compared to same-sex interactions. We also observed a trend toward higher amplitudes by males when presented with a male compared to a female stimulus. Our results suggest that mice modulate the rate and frequency of vocalizations depending upon the sex of potential receivers.
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spelling pubmed-57284572017-12-22 Sex-dependent modulation of ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice (Mus musculus musculus) Zala, Sarah M. Reitschmidt, Doris Noll, Anton Balazs, Peter Penn, Dustin J. PLoS One Research Article House mice (Mus musculus) emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), which are surprisingly complex and have features of bird song, but their functions are not well understood. Previous studies have reported mixed evidence on whether there are sex differences in USV emission, though vocalization rate or other features may depend upon whether potential receivers are of the same or opposite sex. We recorded the USVs of wild-derived adult house mice (F1 of wild-caught Mus musculus musculus), and we compared the vocalizations of males and females in response to a stimulus mouse of the same- or opposite-sex. To detect and quantify vocalizations, we used an algorithm that automatically detects USVs (Automatic Mouse Ultrasound Detector or A-MUD). We found high individual variation in USV emission rates (4 to 2083 elements/10 min trial) and a skewed distribution, with most mice (60%) emitting few (≤50) elements. We found no differences in the rates of calling between the sexes overall, but mice of both sexes emitted vocalizations at a higher rate and higher frequencies during opposite- compared to same-sex interactions. We also observed a trend toward higher amplitudes by males when presented with a male compared to a female stimulus. Our results suggest that mice modulate the rate and frequency of vocalizations depending upon the sex of potential receivers. Public Library of Science 2017-12-13 /pmc/articles/PMC5728457/ /pubmed/29236704 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188647 Text en © 2017 Zala et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Zala, Sarah M.
Reitschmidt, Doris
Noll, Anton
Balazs, Peter
Penn, Dustin J.
Sex-dependent modulation of ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice (Mus musculus musculus)
title Sex-dependent modulation of ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice (Mus musculus musculus)
title_full Sex-dependent modulation of ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice (Mus musculus musculus)
title_fullStr Sex-dependent modulation of ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice (Mus musculus musculus)
title_full_unstemmed Sex-dependent modulation of ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice (Mus musculus musculus)
title_short Sex-dependent modulation of ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice (Mus musculus musculus)
title_sort sex-dependent modulation of ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice (mus musculus musculus)
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5728457/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29236704
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188647
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