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Hormone-induced vocal behavior and midbrain auditory sensitivity in the green treefrog, Hyla cinerea

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Summary

Twenty four castrated male, 6 intact male, and 11 intact female Hyla cinerea were injected subcutaneously with 25 μg arginine-vasotocin (AVT) and induced to call 1 h later in response to the playback of a conspecific mating call. Eighteen castrated males and 8 intact females were implanted 5 mg androgen pellets for 3 weeks prior to the neuropeptide injection. Among castrated males, 6/9 testosterone (T) implanted, 4/9 dihydrotestosterone (DHT) implanted and 2/6 non implanted individuals produced calls after being administered AVT. 5/6 intact non implanted males and 6/8 T intact implanted females also called, and 3 intact non implanted females remained silent after the injection. Evoked calls had a mid-frequency spectral peak at about 1900 Hz which is absent in field-recorded mating calls of this species. Calls of implanted females and castrated non implanted males were shorter than those of castrated implanted and intact non implanted males. Audiograms measured before hormone implants showed dips of enhanced sensitivity at about 0.5, 0.9 and 3.0 kHz in males and females. After AVT injection, thresholds at frequencies within the 0.7–1.5 kHz range were increased in castrated males. Such reduction in sensitivity points to an inhibition of the auditory system during hormone induced vocal activation.

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Abbreviations

AVT :

arginine-vasotocin

DHT :

dihydrotestosterone

T :

testosterone

TS :

torus semicircularis

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Author notes

  1. Mario Penna

    Present address: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Casilla 70005 Correo 7, Santiago, Chile

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, 14853, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Mario Penna, Robert R. Capranica & Jane Somers

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  1. Mario Penna
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  2. Robert R. Capranica
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  3. Jane Somers
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Penna, M., Capranica, R.R. & Somers, J. Hormone-induced vocal behavior and midbrain auditory sensitivity in the green treefrog, Hyla cinerea . J Comp Physiol A 170, 73–82 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00190402

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00190402

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