Call category classification of the isolation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations emitted by BTBR T+Itpr3tf/J mouse pups exposed to different perinatal diets

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in social communication and repetitive behaviors/restricted interests that may be diagnosed as early as 2 years of age. This suggests that the pathology underlying the disorder is present during early development, including gestation. This early developmental period is affected by maternal nutrition. The effects of a perinatal high fat diet on neonatal ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) were examined in the BTBR mouse model of ASD, and C57BL/6J mice. Three diets with varied levels of fats and carbohydrates were given to dams beginning 2 weeks prior to mating through weaning. Isolation-induced USVs were recorded from the offspring at P4, P6, and P8. The spectrograms were sorted into call categories using neural networks trained with DeepSqueak. The number, duration, frequency, and power for each call category were evaluated for effects of maternal diet, age, and strain. The BTBR pups made significantly more calls than the B6 pups, regardless of diet, age, sex, or call type. The high fat diet (HFD) affected the BTBR mice more than the B6 mice, significantly increasing both the weight of the pups and the overall number of calls. Maternal diet had only small effects on the call category usage. This analysis provides information about the duration, principle frequency, and power of the different call categories employed by the BTBR and B6 pups.