scholarly journals 22kHz and 55kHz ultrasonic vocalizations differentially influence neural and behavioral outcomes: Implications for modeling anxiety via auditory stimuli in the rat

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila Demaestri ◽  
Heather C. Brenhouse ◽  
Jennifer A. Honeycutt
Keyword(s):  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Ultrasonic Vocalizations ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Basal Nucleus ◽  
Related Information

AbstractThe communicative role of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in rodents is well established, with distinct USVs indicative of different affective states. USVs in the 22kHz range are typically emitted by adult rats when in anxiety-or fear-provoking situations (e.g. predator odor, social defeat), while 55kHz range USVs are emitted in appetitive situations (e.g., play, anticipation of reward). Previous work indicates that USVs (real-time and playback) can effectively communicate these affective states and influence changes in behavior and neural activity of the receiver. Changes in cFos activation following 22kHz USVs have been seen in cortical and limbic regions involved in anxiety, including the basolateral amygdala (BLA). However, it is unknown how USV playback influences cFos activity within the basal nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a region also thought to be critical in processing anxiety-related information. The present work sought to characterize distinct behavioral, physiological, and neural responses in rats presented with aversive (22kHz) compared to appetitive (55kHz) USVs or silence. Our findings show that rats exposed to 22kHz USVs: 1) engage in anxiety-like behaviors in the open field and elevated zero maze, and 2) show distinct patterns of cFos activation within the BLA and BNST that contrast those seen in 55kHz playback. Specifically, 22kHz USVs increased cFos density in the anterodorsal nuclei, while 55kHz playback increased cFos in the oval nucleus of the BNST. These results provide important groundwork for leveraging ethologically-relevant stimuli in the rat to improve our understanding of anxiety-related responses in both typical and pathological populations.

scholarly journals Nucleus Accumbens Chemogenetic Inhibition Suppresses Amphetamine-Induced Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Male and Female Rats

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1255
Author(s):  
Kate A. Lawson ◽  
Abigail Y. Flores ◽  
Rachael E. Hokenson ◽  
Christina M. Ruiz ◽  
Stephen V. Mahler
Keyword(s):  
Nucleus Accumbens ◽  
Subjective Effects ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Ultrasonic Vocalizations ◽  
Designer Drugs ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Male And Female Rats

Adult rats emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) related to their affective states, potentially providing information about their subjective experiences during behavioral neuroscience experiments. If so, USVs might provide an important link between invasive animal preclinical studies and human studies in which subjective states can be readily queried. Here, we induced USVs in male and female Long Evans rats using acute amphetamine (2 mg/kg), and asked how reversibly inhibiting nucleus accumbens neurons using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) impacts USV production. We analyzed USV characteristics using “Deepsqueak” software, and manually categorized detected calls into four previously defined subtypes. We found that systemic administration of the DREADD agonist clozapine-n-oxide, relative to vehicle in the same rats, suppressed the number of frequency-modulated and trill-containing USVs without impacting high frequency, unmodulated (flat) USVs, nor the small number of low-frequency USVs observed. Using chemogenetics, these results thus confirm that nucleus accumbens neurons are essential for production of amphetamine-induced frequency-modulated USVs. They also support the premise of further investigating the characteristics and subcategories of these calls as a window into the subjective effects of neural manipulations, with potential future clinical applications.

scholarly journals Noradrenergic circuits in the forebrain control affective responses to novelty

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Lustberg ◽  
Rachel P. Tillage ◽  
Yu Bai ◽  
Molly Pruitt ◽  
L. Cameron Liles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Gene Knockout ◽  
Medial Septum ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Psychiatric Disease ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Pharmacological Interventions ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Substance Abuse Disorders

AbstractRationaleIn rodents, exposure to novel environments elicits initial anxiety-like behavior (neophobia) followed by intense exploration (neophilia) that gradually subsides as the environment becomes familiar. Thus, innate novelty-induced behaviors are useful indices of anxiety and motivation in animal models of psychiatric disease. Noradrenergic neurons are activated by novelty and implicated in exploratory and anxiety-like responses, but the role of norepinephrine (NE) in neophobia has not been clearly delineated.ObjectiveWe sought to define the role of central NE transmission in neophilic and neophobic behaviors.MethodsWe assessed dopamine β-hydroxylase knockout (Dbh -/-) mice lacking NE and their NE-competent (Dbh +/-) littermate controls in neophilic (novelty-induced locomotion; NIL) and neophobic (novelty-suppressed feeding; NSF) behavioral tests with subsequent quantification of brain-wide c-fos induction. We complimented the gene knockout approach with pharmacological interventions.ResultsDbh -/- mice exhibited blunted locomotor responses in the NIL task and completely lacked neophobia in the NSF test. Neophobia was rescued in Dbh -/- mice by acute pharmacological restoration of central NE with the synthetic precursor L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylserine (DOPS), and attenuated in control mice by the inhibitory α2-adrenergic autoreceptor agonist guanfacine. Following either NSF or NIL, Dbh -/- mice demonstrated reduced c-fos in the anterior cingulate cortex, medial septum, ventral hippocampus, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and basolateral amygdala.ConclusionThese findings indicate that central NE signaling is required for the expression of both neophilic and neophobic behaviors. Further, we describe a putative noradrenergic novelty network as a potential therapeutic target for treating anxiety and substance abuse disorders.

scholarly journals Biological Functions of Rat Ultrasonic Vocalizations, Arousal Mechanisms, and Call Initiation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 605
Author(s):  
Stefan M. Brudzynski
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Emotional Arousal ◽  
Ultrasonic Vocalizations ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Adult Rat ◽  
The Social ◽  
Reticular Activating System ◽  
Social Importance ◽  
Vocal Expressions

This review summarizes all reported and suspected functions of ultrasonic vocalizations in infant and adult rats. The review leads to the conclusion that all types of ultrasonic vocalizations subserving all functions are vocal expressions of emotional arousal initiated by the activity of the reticular core of the brainstem. The emotional arousal is dichotomic in nature and is initiated by two opposite-in-function ascending reticular systems that are separate from the cognitive reticular activating system. The mesolimbic cholinergic system initiates the aversive state of anxiety with concomitant emission of 22 kHz calls, while the mesolimbic dopaminergic system initiates the appetitive state of hedonia with concomitant emission of 50 kHz vocalizations. These two mutually exclusive arousal systems prepare the animal for two different behavioral outcomes. The transition from broadband infant isolation calls to the well-structured adult types of vocalizations is explained, and the social importance of adult rat vocal communication is emphasized. The association of 22 kHz and 50 kHz vocalizations with aversive and appetitive states, respectively, was utilized in numerous quantitatively measured preclinical models of physiological, psychological, neurological, neuropsychiatric, and neurodevelopmental investigations. The present review should help in understanding and the interpretation of these models in biomedical research.

scholarly journals Sex differences in the Role of Basolateral Amygdala Projections to the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis in Anticipatory Anxiety

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Vantrease ◽  
Brittany Avonts ◽  
Mary DeJoseph ◽  
Janice Urban ◽  
Jeremy Rosenkranz
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Basolateral Amygdala ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Anticipatory Anxiety ◽  
Bed Nucleus

scholarly journals Quantifying Media Effects, Its Content, and Role in Promoting Community Awareness of Chikungunya Epidemic in Bangladesh

Epidemiologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-94
Author(s):  
Mst. Marium Begum ◽  
Osman Ulvi ◽  
Ajlina Karamehic-Muratovic ◽  
Mallory R. Walsh ◽  
Hasan Tarek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Media Outlet ◽  
And Control

Background: Chikungunya is a vector-borne disease, mostly present in tropical and subtropical regions. The virus is spread by Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitos and symptoms include high fever to severe joint pain. Dhaka, Bangladesh, suffered an outbreak of chikungunya in 2017 lasting from April to September. With the goal of reducing cases, social media was at the forefront during this outbreak and educated the public about symptoms, prevention, and control of the virus. Popular web-based sources such as the top dailies in Bangladesh, local news outlets, and Facebook spread awareness of the outbreak. Objective: This study sought to investigate the role of social and mainstream media during the chikungunya epidemic. The study objective was to determine if social media can improve awareness of and practice associated with reducing cases of chikungunya. Methods: We collected chikungunya-related information circulated from the top nine television channels in Dhaka, Bangladesh, airing from 1st April–20th August 2017. All the news published in the top six dailies in Bangladesh were also compiled. The 50 most viewed chikungunya-related Bengali videos were manually coded and analyzed. Other social media outlets, such as Facebook, were also analyzed to determine the number of chikungunya-related posts and responses to these posts. Results: Our study showed that media outlets were associated with reducing cases of chikungunya, indicating that media has the potential to impact future outbreaks of these alpha viruses. Each media outlet (e.g., web, television) had an impact on the human response to an individual’s healthcare during this outbreak. Conclusions: To prevent future outbreaks of chikungunya, media outlets and social media can be used to educate the public regarding prevention strategies such as encouraging safe travel, removing stagnant water sources, and assisting with tracking cases globally to determine where future outbreaks may occur.

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