From play to aggression: high-frequency 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations as play and appeasement signals in rats
Abstract
When rats engage in playful interactions, they emit appetitive 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). We investigated the role of 50-kHz USVs in the playful behavior of both juvenile and adult rats. A cohort of juvenile rats was surgically devocalized and allowed to interact with either devocalized or intact partners as juveniles and again as adults. A substantial decrease in playful motivation was seen for pairs of devocalized rats, as well as all intact rats housed with devocalized ones. In pairs in which at least one partner could vocalize, there was no difference in the number of playful interactions as compared to controls. Further investigation revealed that, within the playful episode itself, 50-kHz USVs are more likely to appear before a playful attack is launched than after, regardless of the attacking partner's ability to vocalize, and when one partner is pinned on its back by another, it is the rat that is on top that is more likely to emit 50-kHz USVs. These findings suggest that, for juveniles, 50-kHz USVs may have a critical function in maintaining and facilitating playful motivation, but a more limited role in signaling playful actions. In adults, however, whatever the motivational role of such calling may be, the various kinds of USVs appear to serve critical communicatory functions. For instance, when pairs of adult males that are unfamiliar with one another encounter each other in a neutral arena, they play together, but if one partner is devocalized, there…
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The use of ultrasonic vocalizations can be critical for communication during play, facilitating role reversals and avoiding escalation to aggression.
“As the use of ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) can be critical for communication during play, facilitating role reversals and avoiding escalation to aggression (Kisko et al., 2017; Burke et al., 2020)”
From The rough-and-tumble play of rats as a natural behavior suitable for studying the social brain (2022) · cites this paper as Kisko et al., 2017
Rat ultrasonic vocalizations can be categorized into two main groups: positive/"happy" 50 kHz USVs and negative/"distress" 22 kHz USVs.
“USVs in rats can be categorized into 2 main groups: positive/“happy” 50 kHz USVs and negative/“distress” 22 kHz USVs.7-9,24,33,38,39,41”
From Ultrasonic Vocalization Analysis as a Novel Metric to Assess Cage Enrichment in Rats (2022) · cites this paper as [24]
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Self-citationThe rough-and-tumble play of rats as a natural behavior suitable for studying the social brain
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“As the use of ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) can be critical for communication during play, facilitating role reversals and avoiding escalation to aggression (Kisko et al., 2017; Burke et al., 2020), rats with different styles of RTP may need to modify their use of such calls (Pellis et al.”
BackgroundSelf-citationWho’s laughing? Play, tickling and ultrasonic vocalizations in rats.
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Self-citationWhat do you hear what do you say? Ultrasonic calls as signals during play fighting in rats
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Self-citationSex differences in 50 kHz call subtypes emitted during tickling-induced playful behaviour in rats.
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Ultrasonic Vocalization Analysis as a Novel Metric to Assess Cage Enrichment in Rats
Bigelow, L. J., Cohen, A. J., Pimm, R., Knight, J. B., & Bernard, P. B. (2022) · Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science · doi:10.30802/aalas-jaalas-21-000024 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kisko, T. M., Wöhr, M., Pellis, V. C., & Pellis, S. M.
- Affiliations
- Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
- University of Lethbridge (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Kisko, Theresa M.
- Venue
- Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Published
- 2015
- Volume
- 30
- Pages
- 91-108
- ISSN
- 1866-3370 (ISSN-L)
- 1866-3389
- OpenAlex
- W2224338964
- Cited by
- 56
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 5 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 15.04
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Current topics in behavioral neurosciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology › Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Keywords
- 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations, play behavior, young rats, adult rats, social communication
- MeSH terms
- Ultrasonic Waves, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Vocalization, Animal, Rats
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