Effect of altricial pup ultrasonic vocalization on maternal behavior

• Published in: Handbook of Behavioral Neuroscience Vol. 19; pp. 159 - 166
• Main Authors: Wöhr, Markus, Oddi, Diego, D'Amato, Francesca R.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Science & Technology 2010
• Subjects: acoustic features of pup calls; isolation calls; maternal behaviors; mice; mother-infant interaction; pups; rats; retrieval behavior; rodents; ultrasonic calls; maternal behaviors; ultrasonic calls; retrieval behavior; mother-infant interaction; rats; pups; acoustic features of pup calls; mice; isolation calls; rodents
• ISBN: 0123745934; 9780123745934
• ISSN: 1569-7339
• DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-374593-4.00016-4

Ultrasonic calls are emitted by altricial rodent pups during separation from the mother and serve to orient and facilitate maternal retrieval to the nest. The relevance of associated olfactory and visual cues from the pup has been demonstrated and ultrasonic vocalizations alone have been proved to promote maternal retrieval. Mothers differ from pup-naive females in showing a greater behavioral and physiological responsiveness to pups' ultrasonic calls. Apart from retrieval behavior, no clear evidence exists that these vocalizations directly elicit nursing or grooming of the pups. Rather, grooming pups and rough contact stimulate pup calling. The relevance of these calls during mother-offspring interaction is discussed and it is suggested that they play a regulatory role in modulating infant responsiveness to stress.