ArticleActa neuropsychiatrica2025
Ultrasonic vocalisations in the Flinders Sensitive Line rat, a genetic animal model of depression.
Article in Acta neuropsychiatrica, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Early-life adversity induces metabolic alterations in a rodent model of depression: a differential stress response perspective.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2026Article
- Adolescent tickling incorporating handling is associated with reduced stress- and fear-related behaviors in socially isolated male rats.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
objectiveUltrasonic vocalisations (USVs) emitted by rats may reflect affective states. Specifically, 50 kHz calls emitted during juvenile playing are associated with positive affect. Given that depression is characterised by profound alterations in this domain, we proposed that USV calls may configure a suitable tool for assessing depressive-like states. Utilising the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL), a well-established animal model of depression, we assessed USV calls emitted by rats during tickling, a procedure based on juvenile rats' rough-and-tumble play.
methodsJuvenile FSL rats and their control counterparts, the Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) and Sprague Dawley, were submitted to tickling sessions to imitate rats playing behaviour. The rats were tickled daily for 6 weeks starting at PND21. Tickling sessions were recorded for further acoustic analysis of 50 kHz calls.
resultsTickling increased 50 kHz calls in all the strains. FSL rats emitted more calls than control strains and exhibited a higher number of flat-trill combination calls.
conclusionTickling is a robust method for inducing 50 kHz USV calls. Analysing USV calls emitted during tickling configurates a suitable method for studying affective states relevant to depression. FSL rats did not present anhedonia but rather higher reward sensitivity, which may underlie their stress vulnerability.
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