Early-Life Social Isolation Influences Mouse Ultrasonic Vocalizations during Male-Male Social Encounters.

ABSTRACT: Early-life social isolation has profound effects on adult social competence. This is often expressed as increased aggression or inappropriate displays of courtship-related behaviors. The social incompetence exhibited by isolated animals could be in part due to an altered ability to participate in communicatory exchanges. House mice (Mus musculus) present an excellent model for exploring this idea, because social isolation has a well-established influence on their social behavior, and mice engage in communication via multiple sensory modalities. Here, we tested the prediction that social isolation during early life would influence ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) emitted by adult male mice during same-sex social encounters. Starting at three weeks of age, male mice were housed individually o

SUBMITTER: Keesom SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5215938 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature