Localizing the source of mouse ultrasonic vocalizations using a four-channel microphone array.

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Localizing the source of mouse ultrasonic vocalizations using a four-channel microphone array. Joshua P. Neunuebel1*, Adam L. Taylor2 and Roian S. Egnor1 1 Howard Hughes Medical Institute - Janelia Farm Research Campus, United States 2 Howard Hughes Medical Institute - Janelia Farm Research Campus, United States Mice emit ultrasonic vocalizations that are characterized by frequencies ranging from 30 to 125 kHz, which exceed the thresholds of human hearing. These vocalizations may facilitate communication (Barthelemy et al., 2004), indicate social status (Pomerantz et al., 1983), aid in mate selection (Hammerschmidt et al., 2009), and help identify individuals (Sugimoto et al., 2011). Unlike birds, elephants, marmosets, and other animals that vocalize in a range that is audible to humans, identifying the source of a mouse ultrasonic vocalization during a social interaction with multiple potential vocalizers is problematic because mice lack a visible motor signature during vocal output and the vocalizations are inaudible. Accurately identifying the source of the sound is essential for understanding the functional role of mouse ultrasonic vocalization during social behavior. To address this issue, we constructed a microphone array with four microphones, each capable of recording up to 200 kHz (Avisoft; CM16/CMPA), located in a large, acoustically favorable mouse cage. For each vocalization, the delays in the arrival time between each pair of microphones were calculated for all pairwise microphone combinations and used to determine the location of the sound. To test the capacities of the system, two sets of experiments were conducted. First, a set of 25 prerecorded mouse vocalizations, obtained by pairing two SWR mice of the opposite gender and ranging from 20 to 115 ms in duration, were played and repeated five times from a single speaker (Avisoft; Ultrasonic Electrostatic Speaker ESS16). The speaker was shifted with five coarse movements covering the entire mouse cage or shifted with multiple fine movements in a smaller, centrally confined region of the cage. A second set of experiments consisted of recording vocalizations from a single freely moving SWR mouse that were elicited by either urine or bedding of female SWR mice. This method provides a powerful tool to address the function of mouse ultrasonic vocalizations in social settings. References Barthelemy M, Gourbal BE, Gabrion C, & Petit G. (2004). “Influence of the female sexual cycle on BALB/c mouse calling behaviour during mating.” Naturwissenschaften 91(3):135-8. Pomerantz SM, Nunez AA, & Bean NJ. (1983). "Female behavior is affected by male ultrasonic vocalizations in house mice." Physiology & Behavior 31: 91-96. Hammerschmidt K, Radyushkin K, Ehrenreich H, & Fischer J. (2009). “Female mice respond to male ultrasonic 'songs' with approach behaviour.” Biol Lett 5(5):589-92. Sugimoto H, Okabe S, Kato M, Koshida N, Shiroishi T, Mogi K, Kikusui T, & Koide T. (2011). “A role for strain differences in waveforms of ultrasonic vocalizations during male-female interaction.” PLoS One 6(7): e22093. Keywords: Animal trajectories, auditory, Communication, Positional tracking, Social context, Sound, Sound source localization, ultrasound Conference: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012. Presentation Type: Poster (but consider for participant symposium and student poster award) Topic: Social Behavior Citation: Neunuebel JP, Taylor AL and Egnor RS (2012). Localizing the source of mouse ultrasonic vocalizations using a four-channel microphone array.. Conference Abstract: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00326 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 30 Apr 2012; Published Online: 07 Jul 2012. * Correspondence: Dr. Joshua P Neunuebel, Howard Hughes Medical Institute - Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, 20147, United States, neunuebelj@janelia.hhmi.org Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Joshua P Neunuebel Adam L Taylor Roian S Egnor Google Joshua P Neunuebel Adam L Taylor Roian S Egnor Google Scholar Joshua P Neunuebel Adam L Taylor Roian S Egnor PubMed Joshua P Neunuebel Adam L Taylor Roian S Egnor Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.