Increased ultrasonic vocalizations and risk-taking in rat pups of sleep-deprived dams

•Increased crying in pups born to dams on acute sleep deprivation during pregnancy•Sleep loss during pregnancy increases risk-taking behavior in pre-adolescent pups.•USVs during ontogeny provide early signals to understand mother-child bonding.•Maternal sleep during pregnancy influences the emotional development of babies.

Ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in rodent pups are analogous to cries in human babies. There is reduction in USVs in pups after experimental deprivation of rapid eye movement sleep of dams during pregnancy. However, the effects of total sleep deprivation on the USVs of newborns and their emotional development are not documented. Male pups born to the rats that underwent total sleep deprivation for 5 h during the third trimester made higher vocalizations, when tested on early postnatal days (pnds) in an isolation-paradigm. Their anxiety-related behaviors during pnds 25-28, were tested using elevated plus maze (EPM). In comparison to the control pups, weanlings of sleep-deprived dams made increased entries into the open arms and higher mobility in the EPM. Enhanced distress calls during early pnds and reduction in risk assessment in weanlings indicate a link between the two behaviors. The USVs during ontogeny may provide early signals about altered emotional development.