Stress-Induced Ultrasonic Vocalization in Laboratory Rats and Mice: A Scoping Review.

: Ultrasonic vocalization (USV) can indicate affective states-including psychosocial stress-in mice and rats. However, stress-induced USV changes could be confounded by laboratory experimental variables such as the type of behavioral stress paradigm, the elicitation method, rodent strain, etc. We sought to provide a review of the current literature to delineate how psychosocial stress-altered rodent USVs may be affected by factors of age, sex, strain, species, elicitation paradigm, and stressor.

Methylphenidate differentially affects the social ultrasonic vocalizations of wild-type and prodromal Parkinsonian rats.

Prodromal signs of Parkinson's disease (PD), including vocal communication deficits, are poorly understood and do not respond adequately to current pharmacologic treatments. Norepinephrine dysfunction is involved early in PD; thus, drug therapies targeting norepinephrine may be useful as a treatment of prodromal signs. This study used a validated, translational rodent model of prodromal PD, the male -/- rat, which exhibits ultrasonic vocalization (USV) deficits as early as 2 months of age.

Positron emission tomography neuroimaging of [F]fluorodeoxyglucose uptake and related behavior in the -/- rat model of Parkinson disease.

Introduction: Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition affecting multiple sensorimotor and cognitive systems. The rat model exhibits vocal, cognitive, and limb use deficits seen in idiopathic PD. We sought to measure glucose metabolism in brain regions in and wild type (WT) rats, and to associate these to measures of ultrasonic vocalization, cognition, and limb use behavior.

Effects of chemoradiation and tongue exercise on swallow biomechanics and bolus kinematics.

Background: Common treatments for head and neck cancer (radiation and chemotherapy) can lead to dysphagia; tongue exercise is a common intervention. This study aimed to assess swallow biomechanics and bolus kinematics using a well-established rat model of radiation or chemoradiation treatment to the tongue base, with or without tongue exercise intervention.

Methods: Pre- and post-treatment videofluoroscopy was conducted on 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with radiation/chemoradiation and exercise/no exercise.

Vocal and tongue exercise in early to mid-stage Parkinson disease using the Pink1-/- rat.

Vocal and swallowing deficits are common in Parkinson disease (PD). Because these impairments are resistant to dopamine replacement therapies, vocal and lingual exercise are the primary treatment, but not all individuals respond to exercise and neural mechanisms of treatment response are unclear. To explore putative mechanisms, we used the progressive Pink1-/- rat model of early to mid-stage PD and employed vocal and lingual exercises at 6- and 10-months of age in male Pink1-/- and wild type (WT) rats.