Honors Theses

Date of Award

Spring 5-11-2026

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Communication Sciences and Disorders

First Advisor

Brenton Laing

Second Advisor

Noa Valcarcel

Third Advisor

Nicolaas Prins

Relational Format

Thesis

Abstract

Ultrasonic vocalization (USVs) in mice serves as an important model for studying social communication, behavior processing and neural circuit function. The present study examines how social interaction, artificial stimuli, and developmental stage influence USV production in C57BL/6J mice. Twenty-three mice across multiple age groups were recorded under three experimental conditions: baseline isolation versus live social interaction, exposure to a non-living artificial stimulus, and introduction of a socially novel VMH-implanted female mouse. USVs were recorded using high-frequency acoustic equipment and analyzed using Avisoft, VocalMat, and MATLAB for classification of spectrogram-based call types. In addition to quantifying total vocal output, spectrographic analysis allowed for the identification of distinct call categories based on frequency modulation, duration, and acoustic structure. This approach provided a detailed characterization of how vocal behavior changes in response to different environmental and social contexts.

Results from the experiments demonstrated a significant increase in total USVs during live social interaction, particularly in upward frequency-modulated (Up-FM) calls, suggesting enhanced social engagement and motivational arousal. These findings support the hypothesis that ultrasonic vocalizations reflect activation of hypothalamic circuits involved in social and emotional processing. In contrast, exposure to an artificial toy mouse did not produce a significant increase in vocalizations, indicating that mice selectively respond to biologically meaningful meaning in social cues rather than just visual stimuli. Additionally, age alone was not found to significantly influence USV production within the developmental range tested. Overall, these findings support the hypothesis that mouse ultrasonic vocalizations are strongly influenced by dynamic social context rather than environmental presence or developmental stage alone. This study highlights the value of mouse USVs as measurable behavioral markers of social and neural activation and provides a translational framework for understanding how emotional brain circuits influence communication.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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