Faculty Sponsor: Laverne Melón
Eowyna Hermawan
Wyna is a rising sophomore (’28) from Jakarta, Indonesia planning to major in Neuroscience & Behaviour with a minor in Data Analysis. She is interested in how alcohol influences anxiety through the lens of translational neuroscience. Outside of class, she enjoys dancing, singing, and listening to music.
Abstract: Ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are high-frequency sounds that mice use to communicate emotional and social states. In female mice, USV patterns are more complex during interactions with other females and become simpler during mating with males. This project investigated whether alcohol exposure alters USV patterns in adult female mice (C57BL/6J). The experimental setup involved recording the mice before and after receiving water or a 20% ethanol solution. Detection and classification of USVs were employed using DeepSqueak, a MATLAB-based deep learning tool, and the data were visualized in R using SqueakR. Statistical analyses used non-parametric tests to accommodate small sample sizes and variable distributions. Findings reveal that alcohol exposure led to reductions in both the number and diversity of USV calls, as well as a decrease in the complexity of transitions between syllables. This suggests that alcohol can acutely alter mouse communication and may reflect reduced anxiety and increased social behavior. Future studies will investigate the behavioral implications of these findings, with a focus on sociability and potential sex differences.