On the relationships between ultrasonic calling and anxiety-related behavior in rats
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In the present review, the phenomenon of ultrasonic vocalization in rats will be outlined, including the three classes of vocalizations, namely 40-kHz calls of pups, and 22- and 50-kHz calls of juvenile and adult rats, their general relevance to behavioral neuroscience, and their special relevance to research on anxiety, fear, and defense mechanisms. Here, the emphasis will be placed on 40- and 22-kHz calls, since they are typical for various situations with aversive properties. Among other topics, we will discuss whether such behavioral signals can index a certain affective state, and how these signals can be used in social neuroscience, especially with respect to communication. Furthermore, we will address the phenomenon of inter-individual variability in ultrasonic calling and what we currently know about the mechanisms, which may determine such variability. Finally, we will address the current knowledge on the neural and pharmacological mechanisms underlying 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalization, which show a substantial overlap with mechanisms known from other research on fear and anxiety, such as those involving the periaqueductal gray or the amygdala.
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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 [41]
The Introduction identifies 50-kHz calls with appetitive behavior and 22-kHz calls with aversion, supporting the positive/negative distinction. But it explicitly defines three classes—40-, 22-, and 50-kHz calls—not the two main groups stated in the claim. (LLM, conf=0.92)
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Positive and negative ultrasonic social signals elicit opposing firing patterns in rat amygdala
Parsana, A. J., Li, N., & Brown, T. H. (2012) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2011.08.040 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
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Ethotransmission: communication of emotional states through ultrasonic vocalization in rats.
Brudzynski, S. M. (2013) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.conb.2013.01.014 · Cited by 416 · see citing works
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
- Schwarting, R. K. W., & Wöhr, M.
- Affiliations
- Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
- Venue
- Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research
- Publisher
- FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
- Published
- 2012-04
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 337-348
- ISSN
- 0100-879X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3854164
- OpenAlex
- W2157132268
- Cited by
- 108
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 4.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Americanae (AECID Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology › Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- ultrasonic vocalizations, anxiety, fear, defense mechanisms, 22-kHz calls, 50-kHz calls, interindividual variability, social communication, periaqueductal gray, amygdala, pharmacological mechanisms, rats
- MeSH terms
- Acoustic Stimulation, Age Factors, Animals, Anxiety, Fear, Male, Vocalization, Animal, Rats, Wistar, Rats
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