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Characterization of vocalizations emitted in isolation by California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) pups throughout the postnatal period.

ABSTRACT: Rodent species, such as monogamous and biparental California mice, produce vocalizations as a means of communication. A temporal examination of vocalizations produced by California mice pups in isolation was performed. Pup recordings were performed for 3 min at ?10.00 and 14.00 hrs on early postnatal days (PND) 2-4, 7, 21, and 28. Once initial recordings were finished, pups were returned to the home cage with parents and any siblings for 5 minutes to determine if active biparental responses resulted in an enhanced vocalization response when pups were isolated and retested. We also sought to determine whether potential reduction in vocalizations by older pups might be due to procedure-habituation procedure associated with less anxiety and/or possibly decreased need for parental care. Vocalizations were measured in weanling (30 days of age) "naïve" pups not previously isolated. Results show older pups took significantly longer to vocalize, indicated by increased latency before producing their initial syllable compared to earlier ages. With increasing age, pups demonstrated decreased syllable duration, reduced number and duration of phrases, and decreased number of syllables per phrase. No differences in pup vocalizations were observed before and after being placed back with parents, suggestive biparental potentiation may not exist in California mice pups. Comparison of the naïve to habituated weanling pups indicated the former group had more total calls but no other differences in vocalization parameters were detected between these 2 groups. Collectively, the findings suggest that as California mice pups mature and approach weaning they generally vocalize less in isolation. (PsycINFO Database Record

SUBMITTER: Johnson SA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5310764 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Characterization of vocalizations emitted in isolation by California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) pups throughout the postnatal period.

Johnson Sarah A SA Painter Michele S MS Javurek Angela B AB Murphy Claire R CR Howald Emily C EC Khan Zoya Z ZZ Conard Caroline M CM Gant Kristal L KL Ellersieck Mark R MR Hoffmann Frauke F Schenk A Katrin AK Rosenfeld Cheryl S CS

Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) 20170201 1

Rodent species, such as monogamous and biparental California mice, produce vocalizations as a means of communication. A temporal examination of vocalizations produced by California mice pups in isolation was performed. Pup recordings were performed for 3 min at ∼10.00 and 14.00 hrs on early postnatal days (PND) 2-4, 7, 21, and 28. Once initial recordings were finished, pups were returned to the home cage with parents and any siblings for 5 minutes to determine if active biparental responses resu ...[more]

PMID: 28182483

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Project description:Sex differences in behavior and morphology are usually assumed to be stronger in polygynous species compared to monogamous species. A few brain structures have been identified as sexually dimorphic in polygynous rodent species, but it is less clear whether these differences persist in monogamous species. California mice are among the 5% or less of mammals that are considered to be monogamous and as such provide an ideal model to examine sexual dimorphism in neuroanatomy. In the present study we compared the volume of hypothalamic- and limbic-associated regions in female and male California mice for sexual dimorphism. We also used tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry to compare the number of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in female and male California mice. Additionally, tract tracing was used to accurately delineate the boundaries of the VTA. The total volume of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area (SDN-POA), the principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), and the posterodorsal medial amygdala (MEA) was larger in males compared to females. In the SDN-POA we found that the magnitude of sex differences in the California mouse were intermediate between the large differences observed in promiscuous meadow voles and rats and the absence of significant differences in monogamous prairie voles. However, the magnitude of sex differences in MEA and the BNST were comparable to polygynous species. No sex differences were observed in the volume of the whole brain, the VTA, the nucleus accumbens or the number of TH-ir neurons in the VTA. These data show that despite a monogamous social organization, sexual dimorphisms that have been reported in polygynous rodents extend to California mice. Our data suggest that sex differences in brain structures such as the SDN-POA persist across species with different social organizations and may be an evolutionarily conserved characteristic of mammalian brains.

Dataset Information

Characterization of vocalizations emitted in isolation by California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) pups throughout the postnatal period.

Publications

Characterization of vocalizations emitted in isolation by California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) pups throughout the postnatal period.

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