Biology subjects

Pranic, N. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Pranic, N. M..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Vocal ontogeny in Mus musculus

Infants of many species produce distress calls when in need of parental care. As they mature and gain independence from caregivers, juveniles stop producing infant calls and begin producing adult-like vocalizations in a variety of species-typical contexts. Neonatal mice (Mus musculus) produce "isolation" ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) when separated from the nest, and in contrast, adolescent and adult mice produce "social" USVs during interactions with conspecifics. Although this transition in vocal behavior is known to occur, its developmental timing remains poorly described. In the current study, we performed longitudinal measurements of mouse USVs to establish the age at which juvenile mice begin producing social USVs. Every 4 days (postnatal day (P)12-P28), USVs were first recorded from individual mice in solo sessions to establish rates of isolation/spontaneous USVs and then were recorded again during interactions between same-sex and opposite-sex pairs of age-matched, socially novel (non-littermate) C57BL/6J mice. We report that juvenile mice begin producing social USVs earlier than previously reported, at ages P20-P24. Moreover, although these early social USVs are produced at low rates compared to adult social USVs, they are nonetheless temporally coordinated with active social interaction. Our characterization of the timing of the transition from isolation USVs to social USVs forms a foundation to investigate brain mechanisms that enable the context-dependent regulation of vocal communication over development.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2024

Effects of short-term isolation on vocal and non-vocal social behaviors in prairie voles

Social isolation affects the brain and behavior in a variety of animals, including humans. Studies in traditional laboratory rodents, including mice and rats, have supported the idea that short-term social isolation promotes affiliative social behaviors, while long-term isolation promotes anti-social behaviors, including increased aggression. Whether the effects of isolation on the social behaviors of mice and rats generalize to other rodents remains understudied. In the current study, we characterized the effects of short-term (3-days) social isolation on the vocal and non-vocal social behaviors of adult prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) during same-sex and opposite-sex social interactions. Our experiments revealed that short-term isolation did not affect rates of ultrasonic vocalizations or time spent in non-aggressive social behaviors and huddling. In contrast, short-term isolation affected aggression in a sex- and context-specific manner during male-male interactions. Our findings highlight the importance of comparative work across species and the consideration of social context to understand the diverse ways in which social isolation can impact social behavior.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2022

Rates but not acoustic features of ultrasonic vocalizations are related to non-vocal behaviors in mouse pups

Mouse pups produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in response to isolation from the nest (i.e., isolation USVs). Rates and acoustic features of isolation USVs change dramatically over the first two weeks of life, and there is also substantial variability in the rates and acoustic features of isolation USVs at a given postnatal age. The factors that contribute to within-age variability in isolation USVs remain largely unknown. Here, we explore the extent to which non-vocal behaviors of mouse pups relate to the within-age variability in rates and acoustic features of their USVs. We recorded non-vocal behaviors of isolated C57BL/6J mouse pups at four postnatal ages (postnatal days 5, 10, 15, and 20), measured rates of isolation USV production, and applied a combination of hand-picked acoustic feature measurements and an unsupervised machine learning-based vocal analysis method to examine USV acoustic features. When we considered different categories of non-vocal behavior, our analyses revealed that mice in all postnatal age groups produce higher rates of isolation USVs during active non-vocal behaviors than when lying still. Moreover, rates of isolation USVs are correlated with the intensity (i.e., magnitude) of non-vocal body and limb movements within a given trial. In contrast, USVs produced during different categories of non-vocal behaviors and during different intensities of non-vocal movement do not differ substantially in their acoustic features. Our findings suggest that levels of behavioral arousal contribute to within-age variability in rates, but not acoustic features, of mouse isolation USVs.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2021

Sex- and context-dependent effects of acute isolation on vocal and non-vocal social behaviors in mice

Humans are extraordinarily social, and social isolation has profound effects on our behavior, ranging from increased social motivation following short periods of social isolation to increased anti-social behaviors following long-term social isolation. Mice are frequently used as a model to understand how social isolation impacts the brain and behavior. While the effects of chronic social isolation on mouse social behavior have been well studied, much less is known about how acute isolation impacts mouse social behavior and whether these effects vary according to the sex of the mouse and the behavioral context of the social encounter. To address these questions, we characterized the effects of acute (3-day) social isolation on the vocal and non-vocal social behaviors of male and female mice during same-sex and opposite-sex social interactions. Our experiments uncovered pronounced effects of acute isolation on social interactions between female mice, while revealing more subtle effects on the social behaviors of male mice during same-sex and opposite-sex interactions. Our findings advance the study of same-sex interactions between female mice as an attractive paradigm to investigate neural mechanisms through which acute isolation enhances social motivation and promotes social behavior.

animal behavior and cognition↗