Ultrasonic vocalizations of rats (Rattus norvegicus) during mating, play, and aggression: Behavioral concomitants, relationship to reward, and self-administration of playback

Rats (Rattus norvegicus) emit a variety of ultrasonic vocalizations throughout their lifespan that reflect different forms of emotional arousal and accompanying affective states. In this study, high frequency recordings of ultrasonic vocalizations were made during mating, aggression, and both conspecific and heterospecific (dubbed “tickling”) rough-and-tumble play behavior. We found that frequency modulated 50-kHz calls (trills […]