02137nas a2200145   4500008004100000245008000041210006900121520158100190653001201771653002001783653000901803100002401812700002201836856013301858       2019                        eng d00aPerception of Ultrasonic Vocalizations by Socially Housed and Isolated Mice0 aPerception of Ultrasonic Vocalizations by Socially Housed and Is3 a<p>It is currently unclear whether mice use their ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) for communication purposes. It is also unknown if mice require previous experience with USVs to understand conspecifics. There is some evidence that experience changes the perception of juvenile USVs; however, it is unclear whether similar plasticity also occurs for adult USVs. To examine whether social exposure or deprivation throughout development leads to changes in USV perception, eleven female CBA/CaJ mice were trained to discriminate between 18 USVs of three different categories using operant conditioning procedures. Mice were group housed with four females or housed individually from weaning for the duration of the experiment. Socially housed and isolated mice differed in initial training times on pure tones, suggesting isolated mice had a more difficult time learning the task. Both groups completed USV discrimination conditions quicker at the end of the testing phases relative to the beginning. The overall discrimination of USVs did not differ between the two housing conditions, but a multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that socially experienced and isolated mice perceive some USVs differently, illustrated by differences in locations of USVs on the scaling maps from the two groups. Finally, a negative correlation was found between spectrotemporal similarity and percent discrimination, and analyses support the idea that mice may show categorical perception of at least two of the three USV categories. Thus, experience with USVs changes USV perception.</p>
10ahearing10apsychoacoustics10aUSVs1 aScreven, Laurel, A.1 aDent, Micheal, L.  uhttp://eneuro.org/lookup/doi/10.1523/ENEURO.0049-19.2019https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.1523/ENEURO.0049-19.201902385nas a2200193   4500008004100000245013100041210006900172260001600241300001300257490000700270520172700277100002502004700002302029700001602052700002202068700002202090700002702112856005202139       2019                        eng d00aSex differences in auditory brainstem response audiograms from vasopressin-deficient Brattleboro and wild-type Long-Evans rats0 aSex differences in auditory brainstem response audiograms from v  cJun-08-2021  ae02220960 v143 a<p>Rats are highly social creatures that produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) during social interactions. Brattleboro rats, a Long-Evans derived rat that lacks vasopressin (AVP) due to a mutation in the Avp gene, exhibit atypical social behavior, including fewer USVs with altered spectrotemporal characteristics during social interactions. It is unclear why Brattleboro rats produce atypical USVs, but one factor could be differences in auditory acuity between them and wild-type Long Evans rats with functional vasopressin. Previous studies have suggested a link between increased levels of AVP and auditory processing. Additionally, few studies have investigated sex differences in auditory perception by Long-Evans rats. Sex differences in auditory acuity have been found throughout the animal kingdom, but have not yet been demonstrated in rat audiograms. This study aimed to measure auditory brainstem response (ABR) derived audiograms for frequencies ranging from 1 to 64 kHz in male and female homozygous Brattleboro (Hom), heterozygous Brattleboro (Het), and wild-type (WT) Long-Evans rats to better understand the role of AVP and sex differences in auditory processing by these rats. We failed to detect significant differences between the ABR audiograms of Hom, Het, and WT Long-Evans rats, suggesting that varying levels of AVP do not affect auditory processing. Interestingly, males and females of all genotypes did differ in their ABR thresholds, with males exhibiting higher thresholds than females. The sex differences in auditory acuity were significant at the lowest and highest frequencies, possibly affecting the perception of USVs. These are the first known sex differences in rat audiograms.</p>
1 aCharlton, Payton, E.1 aSchatz, Kelcie, C.1 aBurke, Kali1 aPaul, Matthew, J.1 aDent, Micheal, L.1 aDelano, Paul, Hinckley  uhttp://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222096