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. 2009 Oct 23;5(5):589-92.
doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0317. Epub 2009 Jun 10.

Female mice respond to male ultrasonic 'songs' with approach behaviour

K Hammerschmidt  1 , K Radyushkin, H Ehrenreich, J Fischer
Affiliations

Female mice respond to male ultrasonic 'songs' with approach behaviour

K Hammerschmidt et al. Biol Lett. .

Abstract

The ultrasonic vocalizations of mice are attracting increasing attention, because they have been recognized as an informative readout in genetically modified strains. In addition, the observation that male mice produce elaborate sequences of ultrasonic vocalizations ('song') when exposed to female mice or their scents has sparked a debate as to whether these sounds are--in terms of their structure and function--analogous to bird song. We conducted playback experiments with cycling female mice to explore the function of male mouse songs. Using a place preference design, we show that these vocalizations elicited approach behaviour in females. In contrast, the playback of whistle-like artificial control sounds did not evoke approach responses. Surprisingly, the females also did not respond to pup isolation calls. In addition, female responses did not vary in relation to reproductive cycle, i.e. whether they were in oestrus or not. Furthermore, our data revealed a rapid habituation of subjects to the experimental situation, which stands in stark contrast to other species' responses to courtship vocalizations. Nevertheless, our results clearly demonstrate that male mouse songs elicit females' interest.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(a) Sketch of the experimental setup. LS, loudspeaker. (b) Examples of playback sounds: (i) male vocalization recorded during female male encounters (C57BL/6NCrl), (ii) pup vocalization recorded during short-term isolation of 4-day-old pups (other strain C75BL/6) and (iii) artificial short ultrasounds ranging between 70 and 80 kHz (generated with Avisoft SASLab Pro v. 4.33). Recording equipment: Microphone (UltraSoundGate CM16), interface (UltraSoundGate 116), recording software Avisoft SASLab Pro v. 4.33, sampling frequency 300 kHz; artificial sounds were produced with Avisoft SASLab Pro v. 4.33.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Percentage of time in sound chamber (mean ± s.e.m.). Line shows chance level. Filled squares, first presentation; open squares, second presentation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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