Skip Navigation

American Zoologist 1981 21(1):129-142; doi:10.1093/icb/21.1.129
© 1981 by The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by FLOODY, O. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

The Hormonal Control of Ultrasonic Communication in Rodents1

OWEN R. FLOODY
Department of Psychology, Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837

SYNOPSIS. The production of high-frequency vocalizations during sexual and agonistic interactions is widespread among rodents. The ubiquity of these signals suggests that they play important roles as social communications in rodent reproduction and population regulation. Furthermore, the consistent association of "ultrasound" production with hormone-dependent sexual andagonistic behaviors suggests that hormones help to coordinate this form of communication with other behavioral and physiological preparations for reproduction. Experiments testing this hypothesis have shown clearly that ultrasound rates depend on gonadal hormones. In addition, the ability of animals to elicit ultrasounds from conspecifics, and their inclination to respond to conspecific ultrasounds, both seem to depend on pituitary or gonadal hormones. This variety of types of hormonal effects on ultrasonic communication increases the extent to which these signals can be integrated with stimuli of other modalities in hormone-dependent chains of communications controlling reproductive success.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.