Testing social acoustic memory in rats: Effects of stimulus configuration and long-term memory on the induction of social approach behavior by appetitive 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations
Testing social acoustic memory in rats: Effects of stimulus configuration and long-term memory on the induction of social approach behavior by appetitive 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations
复制标题
DOI：
10.1016/j.nlm.2012.05.004
复制
发表时间：
2012-09
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
M. Wöhr;R. Schwarting
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
M. Wöhr;R. Schwarting
老鼠发出不同类型的超声波发声（USV），作为视情况而定的情感信号。在食欲旺盛的情况下，例如打闹游戏，会出现高频 50 kHz USV，而在令人厌恶的情况下，例如社交失败，则可以观察到低频 22 kHz USV。 USV 具有独特的通信功能，并在接收器中引起特定于呼叫的行为响应。令人厌恶的 22 kHz USV 充当警报呼叫并引起行为抑制，而食欲的 50 kHz USV 则具有亲社会沟通功能并引发社交接近行为，这支持了它们作为社交联系呼叫以（重新）建立或维持同种人之间的联系的观点。本研究的目的是利用大鼠通过高频 50 kHz USV 在超声波范围内进行通信的能力，开发一种与人类语言记忆相关的大鼠社交声学记忆测试。言语学习和记忆是人类精神分裂症患者普遍缺乏的七个认知领域之一，但特别难以建模。因此，我们测试了通过播放有食欲的 50-kHz USV 来诱导社交接近行为是否依赖于 (1) 声刺激配置和 (2) 社交长期记忆，以及 (3) 社交长期记忆效应是否可以通过服用东莨菪碱（一种产生健忘症的毒蕈碱乙酰胆碱拮抗剂）来阻断。结果表明，响应自然 50 kHz USV 播放的社交接近行为取决于声刺激配置，并且仅当声能集中到超声波范围内的临界频带时才会发生。在第一次播放 50kHz USV 时检测到社交接近行为，而在 1 周后第二次播放时没有观察到这种反应，表明记忆痕迹稳定。相反，当记忆形成被 i.p. 阻止时。在第一次暴露后立即给予东莨菪碱（0.5mg/kg或1.5mg/kg），大鼠在第二次暴露期间也表现出社交行为。因此，响应自然 50 kHz USV 的重复播放而诱导社交接近行为可能会提供一种新的且相当独特的方法来测试大鼠的社交声学记忆与人类语言记忆的相关性。
Rats emit distinct types of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), which serve as situation-dependent affective signals. In appetitive situations, such as rough-and-tumble-play, high-frequency 50-kHz USVs occur, whereas low-frequency 22-kHz USVs can be observed in aversive situations, such as social defeat. USVs serve distinct communicative functions and induce call-specific behavioral responses in the receiver. While aversive 22-kHz USVs serve as alarm calls and induce behavioral inhibition, appetitive 50-kHz USVs have a pro-social communicative function and elicit social approach behavior, supporting the notion that they serve as social contact calls to (re)establish or maintain contact among conspecifics. The aim of the present study was to use the rat’s ability to communicate in the ultrasonic range via high-frequency 50-kHz USVs in order to develop a test for social acoustic memory in rats with relevance for human verbal memory. Verbal learning and memory is among the seven cognitive domains identified as commonly deficient in human schizophrenia patients, but particularly difficult to model. We therefore tested whether the induction of social approach behavior by playback of appetitive 50-kHz USVs is dependent on (1) acoustic stimulus configuration and (2) social long-term memory, and whether (3) social long-term memory effects can be blocked by the administration of scopolamine, a muscarinic acetylcholine antagonist producing amnesia. Results show that social approach behavior in response to playback of natural 50-kHz USVs depends on acoustic stimulus configuration and occurs only when sound energy is concentrated to a critical frequency band in the ultrasonic range. Social approach behavior was detected during the first exposure to playback of 50-kHz USVs, whereas no such response was observed during the second exposure 1week later, indicating a stable memory trace. In contrast, when memory formation was blocked by i.p. administration of scopolamine (0.5mg/kg or 1.5mg/kg) immediately after the first exposure, rats displayed social approach behavior during the second exposure as well. Induction of social approach behavior in response to repeated playback of natural 50-kHz USVs may therefore provide a new and rather unique approach for testing social acoustic memory in rats with relevance to human verbal memory.