Acoustic characteristics of calls emitted in five behavioral contexts.

<p>A- Calls durations in all conditions. B- Calls durations for all call types in all conditions. C- Frequency features (“min”, “max”, “start” and “end” frequencies) of calls in all conditions. Data are presented as means ± SE. *: p<0.005; **: p<0.0001 for Mann-Whitney paired comparison.</p

Behavioral contexts associated with calls emission during social interactions in isolated and non-isolated mice.

<p>Proportion of calls emitted during contacts and independently of social contact. Inset proportion of social contacts types (oro-oral sniffing, oro-flank sniffing, oro-genital sniffing and other contact) associated with the emission of the 3 main calls types (short, jump and upward). Data are presented as Means ± SE, **: p<0.005 for Wilcoxon signed-rank test.</p

Number of calls and vocal repertoire uttered in five behavioral contexts.

<p>A- Calls were recorded during social interaction task, novelty exploration, and restraint stress and analyzed off line. B- Total number of calls emitted in 4 minutes: SIT-isolated (n = 17), SIT-grouped (n = 8), EXPLO-isolated (n = 15), EXPLO-grouped (n = 8) and RESTRAINT (n = 16). C- Distribution and <b>s</b>pectrograms of the ten call types typically emitted by adult male mice. Data not shown, proportion of “other” calls: 1.4±0.8% in SIT-isolated, 4.5±1.3% in SIT-grouped, 9.5±4.1% in EXPLO-grouped, 3.1±1.3% in EXPLO-isolated and 16.3±3.1% in Restraint stress. (Time and frequency criterion were used to distinguish these categories, <i>see methods</i>). Data are presented as means ± SE. *: p<0.005; **: p<0.0001 for chi-square and Mann-Whitney paired comparisons.</p

Interpretative schema of involvement of calls in motivational/emotionnal process.

<p>Proposition of the link between parameters of the calls and motivational/emotionnal processes in adult male mice.</p

No significant effect of habituation time and cage shape/size on the duration of the follow and stop behaviors.

<p>Measures were taken after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (A) Time spent by the <i>occupant</i> (occ) following the <i>new-comer</i> (nc) in the first 4 min of interaction. (B) Time spent by the <i>occupant</i> (occ) not moving during the first 4 min of interaction. (C) Time spent by the <i>new-comer</i> (nc) not moving during the first 4 min of interaction. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

Contexts of ultrasonic vocalization emission during social interactions.

<p>Proportion of ultrasonic vocalizations emitted during social events during the first 4 min of interactions (A) after 20 min habituation in the rectangular cage, (B) after 20 min habituation in the round cage, (C) after 20 min habituation in the square cage, (D) after 30 min habituation in the rectangular cage, (E) after 30 min habituation in the round cage, (F) after 30 min habituation in the square cage. Social events are presented in the following order: contact < 1 cm, nose-to-nose contact, <i>occupant</i> sniffing ano-genital region of <i>new-comer</i>, <i>occupant</i> sniffing ano-genital region of <i>new-comer</i>, <i>occupant</i> behind <i>new-comer</i>, <i>new-comer</i> behind <i>occupant</i>, <i>occupant</i> not moving, <i>new-comer</i> not moving, <i>occupant</i> approaches <i>new-comer</i> & <i>new-comer</i> escapes, <i>new-comer</i> approaches <i>occupant</i> and <i>occupant</i> escapes, <i>occupant</i> approaches <i>new-comer</i> & <i>occupant</i> escapes, <i>new-comer</i> approaches <i>occupant</i> & <i>new-comer</i> escapes, <i>occupant</i> following <i>new-comer</i>, <i>new-comer</i> in the vision field of <i>occupant</i>, <i>occupant</i> in the vision field of <i>new-comer</i> (n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

No significant effect of habituation time and cage shape/size on the vocal behavior of the pairs of interacting mice.

<p>Measures were taken during the first 4 min of interaction after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (A) Latency for the first ultrasonic vocalization. (B) Number of ultrasonic vocalizations emitted by minute. (C) Mean duration of ultrasonic vocalizations. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

Limited effect of habituation time and cage shape/size on the time spent by one individual in the vision field of the other one.

<p>Measures were taken during the first 4 min of interaction after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (A) Time spent by the <i>new-comer</i> in the vision field of the <i>occupant</i>. (B) Time spent by the <i>occupant</i> in the vision field of the <i>new-comer</i>. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; *: p<0.05; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p

Limited influence of habituation time and cage shape/size on the time spent in contact.

<p>Time in contact (< 1 cm) was measured during the first 4 min of interaction after 20 min (left panel) or 30 min (right panel) habituation time in three cage types. (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U-tests: n = 8 pairs of mice per condition; *: p<0.05; data are presented as mean +/- sem).</p