Midbrain node for context-specific vocalisation in fish

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; p. 189
• Main Authors: Schuppe, Eric R., Ballagh, Irene, Akbari, Najva, Fang, Wenxuan, Perelmuter, Jonathan T., Radtke, Caleb H., Marchaterre, Margaret A., Bass, Andrew H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 02.01.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13; 13/51; 38; 38/32; 631/378/2632; 631/378/3919; 9/97; Acoustic properties; Acoustics; Agonistic behavior; Context; Courtship; Fish; Foraging behavior; Hindbrain; Humanities and Social Sciences; Mammals; Mesencephalon; multidisciplinary; Muscles; Neurons; Patterning; Periaqueductal gray area; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Social conditions; Temporal variations; Vertebrates; Vocalization behavior
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43794-y

Vocalizations communicate information indicative of behavioural state across divergent social contexts. Yet, how brain regions actively pattern the acoustic features of context-specific vocal signals remains largely unexplored. The midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) is a major site for initiating vocalization among mammals, including primates. We show that PAG neurons in a highly vocal fish species ( Porichthys notatus ) are activated in distinct patterns during agonistic versus courtship calling by males, with few co-activated during a non-vocal behaviour, foraging. Pharmacological manipulations within vocally active PAG, but not hindbrain, sites evoke vocal network output to sonic muscles matching the temporal features of courtship and agonistic calls, showing that a balance of inhibitory and excitatory dynamics is likely necessary for patterning different call types. Collectively, these findings support the hypothesis that vocal species of fish and mammals share functionally comparable PAG nodes that in some species can influence the acoustic structure of social context-specific vocal signals. The midbrain is a major site for gating vocalization in vertebrates. Here, the authors show midbrain periaqueductal gray neurons in teleost fish with properties like those in mammals, sculpt the acoustic features of context-specific vocal signals.