title: High-frequency (35-70 kHz) ultrasonic vocalizations in rats confronted with anesthetized conspecifics: effects of gepirone, ethanol, and diazepam.
abstract: The effects of three anxiolytics--gepirone, diazepam, and ethanol--on high-frequency ultrasonic vocalizations elicited from rats via a new method are described. Subjects confronted with an anesthetized, same-sex conspecific in a neutral test cage emitted ultrasonic vocalizations in the 35- to 70-kHz range. The great majority of these were calls with frequencies higher than 40 kHz; of these, short calls (< 50 ms) occurred significantly more frequently than long calls (> 50 ms). Female subjects emitted far more of these high-short and high-long vocalizations than males did. In females, but not males, these calls were reduced in number by gepirone, 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) agonist, at both 1.0- and 10.0-mg/kg doses and by diazepam, a benzodiazepine, at 3.0 but not 1.0 mg/kg. Ethanol (0.6 and 1.2 g/kg) had no detectable effect. The utility of this method, both for the study of ultrasounds and assessment of serotonergic anxiolytics, is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Bekesy Laboratory of Neurobiology, Honolulu, HI 96822.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Yudko
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Taukulis
mesh_terms: D000777:Anesthetics; D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014465:Ultrasonics; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000777:Anesthetics; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D011743:Pyrimidines; D000431:Ethanol; C039979:gepirone; D003975:Diazepam