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Updated: Jul 24, 2025
Assessment of Ultrasonic Vocalizations During Drug Self-administration in Rats
Published on: July 22, 2010
Detailed spectrographic analysis of rat ultrasonic vocalizations emitted during the acoustic startle response test
Emilie Bartsoen1, Markus Wöhr2
1KU Leuven, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Research Unit Brain and Cognition, Laboratory of Biological Psychology, Social and Affective Neuroscience Research Group, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium; KU Leuven, Leuven Brain Institute, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium.
Abstract:
Rats emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USV). During aversive situations, rats emit 22-kHz USV, which are considered "alarm calls" and supposed to reflect a negative affective state of the sender. During appetitive situations, rats emit 50-kHz USV, which are believed to reflect a positive affective state. Here, we recorded USV emission in adult male rats during the acoustic startle response test. Our results indicate varied USV emission in both the 22- and 50-kHz USV ranges. Enhanced startle responses were observed in rats with a predominant 22-kHz call profile, supporting the notion that 22-kHz USV emission is associated with a negative affective state.
