Distinct neurons drive mice's social sounds and squeaks
Mice use almost completely distinct sets of neurons for their two different types of vocalizations—the squeaks they produce when in distress or fighting and the whistle-like ultrasonic vocalizations they use when communicating socially, Cornell neuroscientists have found. The discovery is a step toward understanding how the brain is organized to control vocalization in mammals, including humans.
Experiments conducted by Cornell neuroscientists reveal that mice generate distinct sets of neurons for their social vocalizations and distress calls. Dr. Katherine Tschida, an Assistant Professor of psychology at Cornell, leads the research, which focuses on the brainstem's nucleus retroambiguus (RAm) - a region crucial to vocalization in nonhuman animals and humans.
The study, published in eNeuro, found that Fos, an immediate early gene protein, indicates recent neural activity. High levels of social ultrasonic vocalizations, elicited by introducing a new female mouse, activated a broad array of neurons in the RAm region, while high levels of squeaking, triggered by courtship behavior, activated a smaller area of neurons.
These findings, the first direct comparison of squeaking and ultrasonic vocalizations, suggest that distinct neural circuits control these vocal behaviors, contributing to our understanding of vocalization organization in humans and potential impacts of neuron degeneration in diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's.
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