defects in ultrasonic vocalization of cadherin-6 knockout mice缺陷的超声波发声cadherin-6基因敲除小鼠.pdfVIP

Defects in Ultrasonic Vocalization of Cadherin-6 Knockout Mice Ryoko Nakagawa1,2,6, Eiji Matsunaga1,3, Kazuo Okanoya1,4,5,6* 1 Laboratory for Biolinguistics, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Japan, 2 Laboratory of Integrative Bioscience, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan, 3 Laboratory for Symbolic Cognitive Development, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Japan, 4 ERATO Okanoya Emotional Information Project, JST-ERATO, Wako, Japan, 5 Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, 6 Emotional Information Joint Research Laboratory, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Japan Abstract Background: Although some molecules have been identified as responsible for human language disorders, there is still little information about what molecular mechanisms establish the faculty of human language. Since mice, like songbirds, produce complex ultrasonic vocalizations for intraspecific communication in several social contexts, they can be good mammalian models for studying the molecular basis of human language. Having found that cadherins are involved in the vocal development of the Bengalese finch, a songbird, we expected cadherins to also be involved in mouse vocalizations. Methodology/Principal Findings: To examine whether similar molecular mechanisms underlie the vocalizations of songbirds and mammals, we categorized behavioral deficits including vocalization in cadherin-6 knockout mice. Comparing the ultrasonic vocalizations of cadherin-6 knockout mice with those of wild-type controls, we found that the peak frequency and variations of syllables were differed between the mutant and wild–type mice in both pup-isolation and adult-courtship contexts. Vocalizations during male-male aggression behavio