TY - JOUR
T1 - Temporal and spectral differences in the ultrasonic vocalizations of fragile X knock out mice during postnatal development
AU - Lai, Jonathan K.Y.
AU - Sobala-Drozdowski, Monica
AU - Zhou, Linghong
AU - Doering, Laurie C.
AU - Faure, Paul A.
AU - Foster, Jane A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by Discovery Grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC – JAF and PAF), and infrastructure grants from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Innovation Trust (PAF) . Graduate stipend support (to JKYL) was provided by Canadian Institute of Health Research – Vanier Scholarship.
PY - 2014/2/1
Y1 - 2014/2/1
N2 - The fmr1 knock out (KO) mouse has been a useful animal model to understand pathology and treatment of FXS, both anatomically and behaviorally. Ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are a behavioral tool to assess early life communication deficits in mice. Here, we report on the temporal and spectral features of USVs emitted after maternal separation in wild type (FVB/N) and fmr1 KO pups at postnatal days (P) P4, P7 and P10. The results show changes in the number and duration of calls in fmr1 KO pups and wild type pups were dependent on age and call type. Fmr1 KO pups showed an increased number of USVs at P7 but not at P4 or P10. This increase was specific to Frequency Jump calls. In addition, fmr1 KO mice showed a developmental shift in the temporal distribution of calls, with P10 mice calling in distinct bout patterns. Overall, these findings provide evidence that changes in USV outcomes were specific to certain call types and ages in fmr1 KO mice. Because early postnatal life is a window during which multiple neural systems activate and become established, behavioral measures such as using USVs as a measure of communication, may be useful as a predictor of brain changes and later developmental behavioral changes. Work is needed to better understand the functional outcomes of altered development of USVs and how these changes contribute to later emergence of autistic-like behaviors in animal models of autism.
AB - The fmr1 knock out (KO) mouse has been a useful animal model to understand pathology and treatment of FXS, both anatomically and behaviorally. Ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are a behavioral tool to assess early life communication deficits in mice. Here, we report on the temporal and spectral features of USVs emitted after maternal separation in wild type (FVB/N) and fmr1 KO pups at postnatal days (P) P4, P7 and P10. The results show changes in the number and duration of calls in fmr1 KO pups and wild type pups were dependent on age and call type. Fmr1 KO pups showed an increased number of USVs at P7 but not at P4 or P10. This increase was specific to Frequency Jump calls. In addition, fmr1 KO mice showed a developmental shift in the temporal distribution of calls, with P10 mice calling in distinct bout patterns. Overall, these findings provide evidence that changes in USV outcomes were specific to certain call types and ages in fmr1 KO mice. Because early postnatal life is a window during which multiple neural systems activate and become established, behavioral measures such as using USVs as a measure of communication, may be useful as a predictor of brain changes and later developmental behavioral changes. Work is needed to better understand the functional outcomes of altered development of USVs and how these changes contribute to later emergence of autistic-like behaviors in animal models of autism.
KW - Autism spectrum disorders
KW - Fragile X
KW - Postnatal development
KW - Spectral analysis
KW - Ultrasonic vocalizations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84888236822&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84888236822&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.10.049
DO - 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.10.049
M3 - Article
C2 - 24211451
AN - SCOPUS:84888236822
SN - 0166-4328
VL - 259
SP - 119
EP - 130
JO - Behavioural Brain Research
JF - Behavioural Brain Research
ER -