摘要：SummaryInfant crying is a communicative behavior impaired in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Because advanced paternal age is a risk factor for NDDs, we performed computational approaches to evaluate how paternal age affected vocal communication and body weight development in C57BL/6 mouse offspring from young and aged fathers. Analyses of ultrasonic vocalization (USV) consisting of syllables showed that advanced paternal age reduced the number and duration of syllables, altered the syllable composition, and caused lower body weight gain in pups. Pups born to young fathers had convergent vocal characteristics with a rich repertoire, whereas those born to aged fathers exhibited more divergent vocal patterns with limited repertoire. Additional analyses revealed that some pups from aged fathers displayed atypical USV trajectories. Thus, our study indicates that advanced paternal age has a significant effect on offspring’s vocal development. Our computational analyses are effective in characterizing altered individual diversity.Graphical abstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•Advanced paternal age has a major impact on the vocal development of offspring•Advanced paternal age induces atypical individuals with divergent vocal patterns•Atypical vocal development can be identified as early as infancy•Comprehensive computational analyses are effective to detect atypical individualsNeuroscience; Behavioral neuroscience; Developmental neuroscience
