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Negative Affect‐Associated USV Acoustic Characteristics Predict Future Excessive Alcohol Drinking and Alcohol Avoidance in Male P and NP Rats
Author(s) -
Reno James M.,
Thakore Neha,
Cormack Lawrence K.,
Schallert Timothy,
Bell Richard L.,
Maddox W. Todd,
Duvauchelle Christine L.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.13344
Subject(s) - alcohol , psychology , affect (linguistics) , chemistry , alcohol abuse , medicine , developmental psychology , communication , psychiatry , biochemistry
Background Negative emotional status and adverse emotional events increase vulnerability to alcohol abuse. Ultrasonic vocalizations ( USV s) emitted by rats are a well‐established model of emotional status that can reflect positive or negative affective responses in real time. Most USV studies assess counts, yet each USV is a multidimensional data point characterized by several acoustic characteristics that may provide insight into the neurocircuitry underlying emotional response. Methods USV s emitted from selectively bred alcohol‐naïve and alcohol‐experienced alcohol‐preferring and nonpreferring rats (P and NP rats) were recorded during 4‐hour sessions on alternating days over 4 weeks. Linear mixed modeling ( LMM ) and linear discriminant analysis ( LDA ) were applied to USV acoustic characteristics (e.g., frequency, duration, power, and bandwidth) of negative affect (22 to 28 kilohertz [kHz])‐ and positive (50 to 55 kH z) affect‐related USV s. Results Hundred percent separation between alcohol‐naïve P and NP rats was achieved through a linear combination (produced by LDA ) of USV acoustic characteristics of 22‐ to 28‐ kH z USV s, whereas poor separation (36.5%) was observed for 50‐ to 55‐ kH z USV s. 22‐ to 28‐ kH z LDA separation was high (87%) between alcohol‐experienced P and NP rats, but was poor for 50‐ to 55‐ kH z USV s (57.3%). USV mean frequency and duration were the highest weighted characteristics in both the naïve and experienced 22‐ to 28‐ kH z LDA representations suggesting that alcohol experience does not alter the representations. LMM analyses of 22‐ to 28‐ kH z USV acoustic characteristics matched the LDA results. Poor LDA separation was observed between alcohol‐naïve and alcohol‐experienced P rats for both 22‐ to 28‐ kH z and 50‐ to 55‐ kH z USVs. Conclusions Advanced statistical analysis of negative affect‐associated USV data predicts future behaviors of excessive alcohol drinking and alcohol avoidance in selectively bred rats. USV characteristics across rat lines reveal affect‐related motivation to consume alcohol and may predict neural pathways mediating emotional response. Further characterization of these differences could delineate particular neurocircuitry and methods to ameliorate dysregulated emotional states often observed in human alcohol abusers.