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Influence of the female sexual cycle on BALB/c mouse calling behaviour during mating

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Abstract

Real-time recording technology was used in this study to analyse calling activity during heterosexual encounters in BALB/c mice. The spectrographic analyses revealed distinct types of calls that could be linked to a precise pre-ejaculatory behavioural sequence. In addition, the oestrous cycle of the female was observed to influence the vocalization emission pattern. The recording technology used in this study provides numerous improvements in the characterization description of mice calling behaviour during mating and is expected to be useful in studies of vocal communication in many rodent species.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. K. McKoy, K. Cwiklinski and Dr. C. Show for correcting the English version of this paper. Financial support was provided by the French Educational Ministry of Research and Technology (MENRT) in the form of a grant to M. Barthélémy. The authors have adhered to the Guidelines for the Use and Care of Animals in Research and to the European recommendations (décret no. 87–848).

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Correspondence to Mathieu Barthelemy.

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Barthelemy, M., Gourbal, B.E.F., Gabrion, C. et al. Influence of the female sexual cycle on BALB/c mouse calling behaviour during mating. Naturwissenschaften 91, 135–138 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-004-0501-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-004-0501-4

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