1
|
Caria A. A Hypothalamic Perspective of Human Socioemotional Behavior. Neuroscientist 2024; 30:399-420. [PMID: 36703298 DOI: 10.1177/10738584221149647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Historical evidence from stimulation and lesion studies in animals and humans demonstrated a close association between the hypothalamus and typical and atypical socioemotional behavior. A central hypothalamic contribution to regulation of socioemotional responses was also provided indirectly by studies on oxytocin and arginine vasopressin. However, a limited number of studies have so far directly investigated the contribution of the hypothalamus in human socioemotional behavior. To reconsider the functional role of the evolutionarily conserved hypothalamic region in regulating human social behavior, here I provide a synthesis of neuroimaging investigations showing that the hypothalamus is involved in multiple and diverse facets of human socioemotional behavior through widespread functional interactions with other cortical and subcortical regions. These neuroimaging findings are then integrated with recent optogenetics studies in animals demonstrating that the hypothalamus plays a more active role in eliciting socioemotional responses and is not simply a downstream effector of higher-level brain systems. Building on the aforementioned evidence, the hypothalamus is argued to substantially contribute to a continuum of human socioemotional behaviors promoting survival and preservation of the species that extends from exploratory and approaching responses facilitating social bonding to aggressive and avoidance responses aimed to protect and defend formed relationships.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Caria
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Abstract
In recent years, the impact of prenatal sound on development, notably for programming individual phenotypes for postnatal conditions, has increasingly been revealed. However, the mechanisms through which sound affects physiology and development remain mostly unexplored. Here, I gather evidence from neurobiology, developmental biology, cellular biology and bioacoustics to identify the most plausible modes of action of sound on developing embryos. First, revealing often-unsuspected plasticity, I discuss how prenatal sound may shape auditory system development and determine individuals' later capacity to receive acoustic information. I also consider the impact of hormones, including thyroid hormones, glucocorticoids and androgen, on auditory plasticity. Second, I review what is known about sound transduction to other - non-auditory - brain regions, and its potential to input on classical developmental programming pathways. Namely, the auditory pathway has direct anatomical and functional connectivity to the hippocampus, amygdala and/or hypothalamus, in mammals, birds and anurans. Sound can thus trigger both immediate and delayed responses in these limbic regions, which are specific to the acoustic stimulus and its biological relevance. Third, beyond the brain, I briefly consider the possibility for sound to directly affect cellular functioning, based on evidence in earless organisms (e.g. plants) and cell cultures. Together, the multi-disciplinary evidence gathered here shows that the brain is wired to allow multiple physiological and developmental effects of sound. Overall, there are many unexplored, but possible, pathways for sound to impact even primitive or immature organisms. Throughout, I identify the most promising research avenues for unravelling the processes of acoustic developmental programming.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mylene M Mariette
- Doñana Biological Station EBD-CSIC, 41092 Seville, Spain
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Freiler MK, Smith GT. Neuroendocrine mechanisms contributing to the coevolution of sociality and communication. Front Neuroendocrinol 2023; 70:101077. [PMID: 37217079 PMCID: PMC10527162 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2023.101077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Communication is inherently social, so signaling systems should evolve with social systems. The 'social complexity hypothesis' posits that social complexity necessitates communicative complexity and is generally supported in vocalizing mammals. This hypothesis, however, has seldom been tested outside the acoustic modality, and comparisons across studies are confounded by varying definitions of complexity. Moreover, proximate mechanisms underlying coevolution of sociality and communication remain largely unexamined. In this review, we argue that to uncover how sociality and communication coevolve, we need to examine variation in the neuroendocrine mechanisms that coregulate social behavior and signal production and perception. Specifically, we focus on steroid hormones, monoamines, and nonapeptides, which modulate both social behavior and sensorimotor circuits and are likely targets of selection during social evolution. Lastly, we highlight weakly electric fishes as an ideal system in which to comparatively address the proximate mechanisms underlying relationships between social and signal diversity in a novel modality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Megan K Freiler
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States.
| | - G Troy Smith
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Spool JA, Lally AP, Remage-Healey L. Top-down, auditory pallial regulation of the social behavior network. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.08.531754. [PMID: 36945416 PMCID: PMC10028912 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.08.531754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Social encounters rely on sensory cues that carry nuanced information to guide social decision-making. While high-level features of social signals are processed in the telencephalic pallium, nuclei controlling social behaviors, called the social behavior network (SBN), reside mainly in the diencephalon. Although it is well known how mammalian olfactory pallium interfaces with the SBN, there is little information for how pallial processing of other sensory modalities can modulate SBN circuits. This is surprising given the importance of complex vocalizations, for example, for social behavior in many vertebrate taxa such as humans and birds. Using gregarious and highly vocal songbirds, female Zebra finches, we asked to what extent auditory pallial circuits provide consequential input to the SBN as it processes social sensory cues. We transiently inactivated auditory pallium of female Zebra finches during song playback and examined song-induced activation in SBN nuclei. Auditory pallial inactivation impaired responses to song specifically within the lateral ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMHl), providing the first evidence in vertebrates of a connection between auditory pallium and the SBN. This same treatment elevated feeding behavior, which also correlated with VMHl activation. This suggests that signals from auditory pallium to VMHl can tune the balance between social attention and feeding drive. A descending influence of sensory pallium on hypothalamic circuits could therefore provide a functional connection for the integration of social stimuli with internal state to influence social decision-making. SIGNIFICANCE Sensory cues such as vocalizations contain important social information. These social signals can be substantially nuanced, containing information about vocalizer identity, prior experience, valence, and emotional state. Processing these features of vocalizations necessitates processing the fast, complex sound streams in song or speech, which depends on circuits in pallial cortex. But whether and how this information is then transferred to social circuits in limbic and hypothalamic regions remains a mystery. Here, we identify a top-down influence of the songbird auditory pallium on one specific node of the social behavior network within the hypothalamus. Descending functional connections such as these may be critical for the wide range of vertebrate species that rely on intricate sensory communication signals to guide social decision-making.
Collapse
|
5
|
Sung JY, Harris OK, Hensley NM, Chemero AP, Morehouse NI. Beyond cognitive templates: re-examining template metaphors used for animal recognition and navigation. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:825-841. [PMID: 33970266 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The term 'cognitive template' originated from work in human-based cognitive science to describe a literal, stored, neural representation used in recognition tasks. As the study of cognition has expanded to non-human animals, the term has diffused to describe a wider range of animal cognitive tools and strategies that guide action through the recognition of and discrimination between external states. One potential reason for this non-standardized meaning and variable employment is that researchers interested in the broad range of animal recognition tasks enjoy the simplicity of the cognitive template concept and have allowed it to become shorthand for many dissimilar or unknown neural processes without deep scrutiny of how this metaphor might comport with underlying neurophysiology. We review the functional evidence for cognitive templates in fields such as perception, navigation, communication, and learning, highlighting any neural correlates identified by these studies. We find that the concept of cognitive templates has facilitated valuable exploration at the interface between animal behavior and cognition, but the quest for a literal template has failed to attain mechanistic support at the level of neurophysiology. This may be the result of a misled search for a single physical locus for the 'template' itself. We argue that recognition and discrimination processes are best treated as emergent and, as such, may not be physically localized within single structures of the brain. Rather, current evidence suggests that such tasks are accomplished through synergies between multiple distributed processes in animal nervous systems. We thus advocate for researchers to move towards a more ecological, process-oriented conception, especially when discussing the neural underpinnings of recognition-based cognitive tasks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jenny Y Sung
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Baugh AT, Gall MD, Silver SC, Bee MA. Moderately elevated glucocorticoids increase mate choosiness but do not affect sexual proceptivity or preferences in female gray treefrogs. Horm Behav 2021; 130:104950. [PMID: 33556376 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.104950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Glucocorticoids (GCs) are rarely studied in the context of female mate choice, despite the expression of receptors for these products in sexual, sensory and decision-making brain areas. Here we investigated the effects of GC concentrations on three aspects of female sexual behavior in breeding Cope's gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis): proceptivity-a measure of sexual motivation, intraspecific mate preferences, and mate choosiness. To our knowledge this is the first experimental study on the endocrine basis of mate choosiness. We predicted that mate choosiness-forfeiting an initial mate preference to pursue a suddenly more attractive mate-would be particularly impacted by elevated GCs with moderate GC levels associated with greater choosiness. We found support for this predicted inverted-U relationship. Females in the control group (no injection) showed no change in choosiness across timepoints. In contrast, females in the vehicle, Low (20 ng g-1) and High (180 ng g-1) corticosterone groups exhibited a nominal decline in choosiness after injection, suggesting that the experience of injection has little or perhaps slightly suppressive effects on female choosiness. Females in the moderate dose group (60 ng g-1), however, exhibited a significant increase (>100%) in choosiness. Further, we found no effect of elevated GCs on sexual proceptivity or the species-typical preference for longer calls. These findings may reflect a buffering of primary sensory areas in the brain against elevated GCs. The recruitment of other cognitive processes during active decision-making, however, may facilitate GC modulation of mate choosiness, thereby promoting tactical plasticity at this critical life history juncture.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander T Baugh
- Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081, USA.
| | - Megan D Gall
- Department of Biology, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, USA
| | - Stewart C Silver
- Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081, USA
| | - Mark A Bee
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 1479 Gortner Ave, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 321 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Petersen CL, Davis SED, Patel B, Hurley LM. Social Experience Interacts with Serotonin to Affect Functional Connectivity in the Social Behavior Network following Playback of Social Vocalizations in Mice. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0247-20.2021. [PMID: 33658309 PMCID: PMC8114900 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0247-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Past social experience affects the circuitry responsible for producing and interpreting current behaviors. The social behavior network (SBN) is a candidate neural ensemble to investigate the consequences of early-life social isolation. The SBN interprets and produces social behaviors, such as vocalizations, through coordinated patterns of activity (functional connectivity) between its multiple nuclei. However, the SBN is relatively unexplored with respect to murine vocal processing. The serotonergic system is sensitive to past experience and innervates many nodes of the SBN; therefore, we tested whether serotonin signaling interacts with social experience to affect patterns of immediate early gene (IEG; cFos) induction in the male SBN following playback of social vocalizations. Male mice were separated into either social housing of three mice per cage or into isolated housing at 18-24 d postnatal. After 28-30 d in housing treatment, mice were parsed into one of three drug treatment groups: control, fenfluramine (FEN; increases available serotonin), or pCPA (depletes available serotonin) and exposed to a 60-min playback of female broadband vocalizations (BBVs). FEN generally increased the number of cFos-immunoreactive (-ir) neurons within the SBN, but effects were more pronounced in socially isolated mice. Despite a generalized increase in cFos immunoreactivity, isolated mice had reduced functional connectivity, clustering, and modularity compared with socially reared mice. These results are analogous to observations of functional dysconnectivity in persons with psychopathologies and suggests that early-life social isolation modulates serotonergic regulation of social networks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher L Petersen
- Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405
- Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405
| | - Sarah E D Davis
- Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405
| | - Bhumi Patel
- Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405
| | - Laura M Hurley
- Department of Biology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405
- Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405
- Department of Neuroscience, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47406
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ryan MJ, Akre KL, Baugh AT, Bernal XE, Lea AM, Leslie C, Still MB, Wylie DC, Rand AS. Nineteen Years of Consistently Positive and Strong Female Mate Preferences despite Individual Variation. Am Nat 2019; 194:125-134. [DOI: 10.1086/704103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
|
9
|
Hadawale KN, Sawant NS, Sagarkar S, Sakharkar AJ, Bhargava SY. Sex-specific distribution of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the brain of the frog, Microhyla ornata. Neuropeptides 2019; 74:1-10. [PMID: 30826125 DOI: 10.1016/j.npep.2019.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Revised: 01/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is involved in sex-specific behavioural processes in vertebrates. NPY integrates energy balance and reproduction in mammals. However, the relevance of NPY in reproduction of lower vertebrates is understudied. In the present study, we have investigated neuroanatomical distribution and sex-specific differences of NPY in the brain of Microhyla ornata using immunohistochemistry and quantitative real time PCR. NPY is widely distributed throughout the brain of M. ornata. We observed NPY immunoreactivity in the cells of the nucleus accumbens, striatum pars dorsalis, dorsal pallium, medial pallium, ventral pallium, bed nucleus of stria terminalis, preoptic nucleus, infundibular region, median eminence and pituitary gland of adult M. ornata. A higher number of NPY- immunoreactive cells were observed in the preoptic nucleus (p < .01), nucleus infundibularis ventralis (p < .001) and anteroventral tegmental nucleus (p < .001) of the female as compared to that of the male frog. Real-Time PCR revealed higher mRNA levels of NPY in the female as compared to male frogs in the mid-brain region that largely contains the hypothalamus. Sexual dimorphism of NPY expression in M. ornata suggests that NPY may be involved in the reproductive physiology of anurans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kavita N Hadawale
- Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India
| | - Nitin S Sawant
- Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India
| | - Sneha Sagarkar
- Department of Biotechnology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India
| | - Amul J Sakharkar
- Department of Biotechnology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India
| | - Shobha Y Bhargava
- Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411 007, India.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Ryan MJ, Page RA, Hunter KL, Taylor RC. ‘Crazy love’: nonlinearity and irrationality in mate choice. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
11
|
Ghahramani ZN, Timothy M, Varughese J, Sisneros JA, Forlano PM. Dopaminergic neurons are preferentially responsive to advertisement calls and co-active with social behavior network nuclei in sneaker male midshipman fish. Brain Res 2018; 1701:177-188. [PMID: 30217439 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2018.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Revised: 09/01/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Vocal species use acoustic signals to facilitate diverse behaviors such as mate attraction and territorial defense. However, little is known regarding the neural substrates that interpret such divergent conspecific signals. Using the plainfin midshipman fish model, we tested whether specific catecholaminergic (i.e., dopaminergic and noradrenergic) nuclei and nodes of the social behavior network (SBN) are differentially responsive following exposure to playbacks of divergent social signals in sneaker males. We chose sneaker (type II) males since they attempt to steal fertilizations from territorial type I males who use an advertisement call (hum) to attract females yet are also subjected to vocal agonistic behavior (grunts) by type I males. We demonstrate that induction of cFos (an immediate early gene product and proxy for neural activation) in two forebrain dopaminergic nuclei is greater in sneaker males exposed to hums but not grunts compared to ambient noise, suggesting hums preferentially activate these nuclei, further asserting dopamine as an important regulator of social-acoustic behaviors. Moreover, acoustic exposure to social signals with divergent salience engendered contrasting shifts in functional connectivity between dopaminergic nuclei and nodes of the SBN, supporting the idea that interactions between these two circuits may underlie adaptive decision-making related to intraspecific male competition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zachary N Ghahramani
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, United States; Doctoral Subprogram in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, United States.
| | - Miky Timothy
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, United States
| | - Joshua Varughese
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, United States
| | - Joseph A Sisneros
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; Virginia Bloedel Hearing Research Center, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Paul M Forlano
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, United States; Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center (AREAC), Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, United States; Doctoral Subprogram in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, United States; Doctoral Subprogram in Neuroscience, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, United States; Doctoral Subprogram in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Petersen CL, Hurley LM. Putting it in Context: Linking Auditory Processing with Social Behavior Circuits in the Vertebrate Brain. Integr Comp Biol 2018; 57:865-877. [PMID: 28985384 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icx055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Context is critical to the adaptive value of communication. Sensory systems such as the auditory system represent an important juncture at which information on physiological state or social valence can be added to communicative information. However, the neural pathways that convey context to the auditory system are not well understood. The serotonergic system offers an excellent model to address these types of questions. Serotonin fluctuates in the mouse inferior colliculus (IC), an auditory midbrain region important for species-specific vocalizations, during specific social and non-social contexts. Furthermore, serotonin is an indicator of the valence of event-based changes within individual social interactions. We propose a model in which the brain's social behavior network serves as an afferent effector of the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus in order to gate contextual release of serotonin in the IC. Specifically, discrete vasopressinergic nuclei within the hypothalamus and extended amygdala that project to the dorsal raphe are functionally engaged during contexts in which serotonin fluctuates in the IC. Since serotonin strongly influences the responses of IC neurons to social vocalizations, this pathway could serve as a feedback loop whereby integrative social centers modulate their own sources of input. The end result of this feedback would be to produce a process that is geared, from sensory input to motor output, toward responding appropriately to a dynamic external world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura M Hurley
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, 47405 IN, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Johnson ZV, Young LJ. Oxytocin and vasopressin neural networks: Implications for social behavioral diversity and translational neuroscience. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 76:87-98. [PMID: 28434591 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2016] [Revised: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Oxytocin- and vasopressin-related systems are present in invertebrate and vertebrate bilaterian animals, including humans, and exhibit conserved neuroanatomical and functional properties. In vertebrates, these systems innervate conserved neural networks that regulate social learning and behavior, including conspecific recognition, social attachment, and parental behavior. Individual and species-level variation in central organization of oxytocin and vasopressin systems has been linked to individual and species variation in social learning and behavior. In humans, genetic polymorphisms in the genes encoding oxytocin and vasopressin peptides and/or their respective target receptors have been associated with individual variation in social recognition, social attachment phenotypes, parental behavior, and psychiatric phenotypes such as autism. Here we describe both conserved and variable features of central oxytocin and vasopressin systems in the context of social behavioral diversity, with a particular focus on neural networks that modulate social learning, behavior, and salience of sociosensory stimuli during species-typical social contexts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zachary V Johnson
- Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA; School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
| | - Larry J Young
- Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Schaich Borg J, Srivastava S, Lin L, Heffner J, Dunson D, Dzirasa K, de Lecea L. Rat intersubjective decisions are encoded by frequency-specific oscillatory contexts. Brain Behav 2017; 7:e00710. [PMID: 28638715 PMCID: PMC5474713 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION It is unknown how the brain coordinates decisions to withstand personal costs in order to prevent other individuals' distress. Here we test whether local field potential (LFP) oscillations between brain regions create "neural contexts" that select specific brain functions and encode the outcomes of these types of intersubjective decisions. METHODS Rats participated in an "Intersubjective Avoidance Test" (IAT) that tested rats' willingness to enter an innately aversive chamber to prevent another rat from getting shocked. c-Fos immunoreactivity was used to screen for brain regions involved in IAT performance. Multi-site local field potential (LFP) recordings were collected simultaneously and bilaterally from five brain regions implicated in the c-Fos studies while rats made decisions in the IAT. Local field potential recordings were analyzed using an elastic net penalized regression framework. RESULTS Rats voluntarily entered an innately aversive chamber to prevent another rat from getting shocked, and c-Fos immunoreactivity in brain regions known to be involved in human empathy-including the anterior cingulate, insula, orbital frontal cortex, and amygdala-correlated with the magnitude of "intersubjective avoidance" each rat displayed. Local field potential recordings revealed that optimal accounts of rats' performance in the task require specific frequencies of LFP oscillations between brain regions in addition to specific frequencies of LFP oscillations within brain regions. Alpha and low gamma coherence between spatially distributed brain regions predicts more intersubjective avoidance, while theta and high gamma coherence between a separate subset of brain regions predicts less intersubjective avoidance. Phase relationship analyses indicated that choice-relevant coherence in the alpha range reflects information passed from the amygdala to cortical structures, while coherence in the theta range reflects information passed in the reverse direction. CONCLUSION These results indicate that the frequency-specific "neural context" surrounding brain regions involved in social cognition encodes outcomes of decisions that affect others, above and beyond signals from any set of brain regions in isolation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jana Schaich Borg
- Social Science Research Institute Duke University Durham NC USA.,Duke Institute for Brain Sciences Duke University Durham NC USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University Stanford CA USA
| | - Sanvesh Srivastava
- Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science University of Iowa Iowa City IA USA
| | - Lizhen Lin
- Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics University of Notre Dame Notre Dame IN USA
| | - Joseph Heffner
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive Linguistic and Psychological Sciences Brown University Providence RI USA
| | - David Dunson
- Department of Statistical Science Duke University Durham NC USA
| | - Kafui Dzirasa
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences Duke University Durham NC USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Duke University Medical Center Durham NC USA.,Department of Neurobiology Duke University Medical Center Durham NC USA.,Department of Neurosurgery Duke University Medical Center Durham NC USA.,Department of Biomedical Engineering Duke University Durham NC USA
| | - Luis de Lecea
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University Stanford CA USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Johnson ZV, Walum H, Xiao Y, Riefkohl PC, Young LJ. Oxytocin receptors modulate a social salience neural network in male prairie voles. Horm Behav 2017; 87:16-24. [PMID: 27793769 PMCID: PMC5207344 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2016] [Revised: 10/05/2016] [Accepted: 10/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Social behavior is regulated by conserved neural networks across vertebrates. Variation in the organization of neuropeptide systems across these networks is thought to contribute to individual and species diversity in network function during social contexts. For example, oxytocin (OT) is an ancient neuropeptide that binds to OT receptors (OTRs) in the brain and modulates social and reproductive behavior across vertebrate species, including humans. Central OTRs exhibit extraordinarily diverse expression patterns that are associated with individual and species differences in social behavior. In voles, OTR density in the nucleus accumbens (NAc)-a region important for social and reward learning-is associated with individual and species variation in social attachment behavior. Here we test whether OTRs in the NAc modulate a social salience network (SSN)-a network of interconnected brain nuclei thought to encode valence and incentive salience of sociosensory cues-during a social context in the socially monogamous male prairie vole. Using a selective OTR antagonist, we test whether activation of OTRs in the NAc during sociosexual interaction and mating modulates expression of the immediate early gene product Fos across nuclei of the SSN. We show that blockade of endogenous OTR signaling in the NAc during sociosexual interaction and mating does not strongly modulate levels of Fos expression in individual nodes of the network, but strongly modulates patterns of correlated Fos expression between the NAc and other SSN nuclei.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zachary V Johnson
- Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| | - Hasse Walum
- Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| | - Yao Xiao
- Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| | - Paula C Riefkohl
- Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| | - Larry J Young
- Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Teles MC, Almeida O, Lopes JS, Oliveira RF. Social interactions elicit rapid shifts in functional connectivity in the social decision-making network of zebrafish. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:20151099. [PMID: 26423839 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
According to the social decision-making (SDM) network hypothesis, SDM is encoded in a network of forebrain and midbrain structures in a distributed and dynamic fashion, such that the expression of a given social behaviour is better reflected by the overall profile of activation across the different loci rather than by the activity of a single node. This proposal has the implicit assumption that SDM relies on integration across brain regions, rather than on regional specialization. Here we tested the occurrence of functional localization and of functional connectivity in the SDM network. For this purpose we used zebrafish to map different social behaviour states into patterns of neuronal activity, as indicated by the expression of the immediate early genes c-fos and egr-1, across the SDM network. The results did not support functional localization, as some loci had similar patterns of activity associated with different social behaviour states, and showed socially driven changes in functional connectivity. Thus, this study provides functional support to the SDM network hypothesis and suggests that the neural context in which a given node of the network is operating (i.e. the state of its interconnected areas) is central to its functional relevance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Magda C Teles
- ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, Lisboa 1149-041, Portugal Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, Oeiras 2780-156, Portugal Champalimaud Neuroscience Program, Av. Brasília, Doca de Pedrouços, Lisboa 1400-038, Portugal
| | - Olinda Almeida
- ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, Lisboa 1149-041, Portugal Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, Oeiras 2780-156, Portugal Champalimaud Neuroscience Program, Av. Brasília, Doca de Pedrouços, Lisboa 1400-038, Portugal
| | - João S Lopes
- ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, Lisboa 1149-041, Portugal Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, Oeiras 2780-156, Portugal Champalimaud Neuroscience Program, Av. Brasília, Doca de Pedrouços, Lisboa 1400-038, Portugal
| | - Rui F Oliveira
- ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, Lisboa 1149-041, Portugal Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, Oeiras 2780-156, Portugal Champalimaud Neuroscience Program, Av. Brasília, Doca de Pedrouços, Lisboa 1400-038, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Johnson ZV, Walum H, Jamal YA, Xiao Y, Keebaugh AC, Inoue K, Young LJ. Central oxytocin receptors mediate mating-induced partner preferences and enhance correlated activation across forebrain nuclei in male prairie voles. Horm Behav 2016; 79:8-17. [PMID: 26643557 PMCID: PMC4768463 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2015] [Revised: 11/25/2015] [Accepted: 11/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Oxytocin (OT) is a deeply conserved nonapeptide that acts both peripherally and centrally to modulate reproductive physiology and sociosexual behavior across divergent taxa, including humans. In vertebrates, the distribution of the oxytocin receptor (OTR) in the brain is variable within and across species, and OTR signaling is critical for a variety of species-typical social and reproductive behaviors, including affiliative and pair bonding behaviors in multiple socially monogamous lineages of fishes, birds, and mammals. Early work in prairie voles suggested that the endogenous OT system modulates mating-induced partner preference formation in females but not males; however, there is significant evidence that central OTRs may modulate pair bonding behavior in both sexes. In addition, it remains unclear how transient windows of central OTR signaling during sociosexual interaction modulate neural activity to produce enduring shifts in sociobehavioral phenotypes, including the formation of selective social bonds. Here we re-examine the role of the central OT system in partner preference formation in male prairie voles using a selective OTR antagonist delivered intracranially. We then use the same antagonist to examine how central OTRs modulate behavior and immediate early gene (Fos) expression, a metric of neuronal activation, in males during brief sociosexual interaction with a female. Our results suggest that, as in females, OTR signaling is critical for partner preference formation in males and enhances correlated activation across sensory and reward processing brain areas during sociosexual interaction. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that central OTR signaling facilitates social bond formation by coordinating activity across a pair bonding neural network.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zachary V Johnson
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| | - Hasse Walum
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| | - Yaseen A Jamal
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| | - Yao Xiao
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| | - Alaine C Keebaugh
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| | - Kiyoshi Inoue
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| | - Larry J Young
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA; Silvio O. Conte Center for Oxytocin and Social Cognition, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Mate Searching Animals as Model Systems for Understanding Perceptual Grouping. PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS IN ANIMAL COMMUNICATION 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-48690-1_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
|
19
|
Hall IC, Woolley SMN, Kwong-Brown U, Kelley DB. Sex differences and endocrine regulation of auditory-evoked, neural responses in African clawed frogs (Xenopus). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2016; 202:17-34. [PMID: 26572136 PMCID: PMC4699871 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-015-1049-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2015] [Revised: 10/03/2015] [Accepted: 10/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Mating depends on the accurate detection of signals that convey species identity and reproductive state. In African clawed frogs, Xenopus, this information is conveyed by vocal signals that differ in temporal patterns and spectral features between sexes and across species. We characterized spectral sensitivity using auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs), commonly known as the auditory brainstem response, in males and females of four Xenopus species. In female X. amieti, X. petersii, and X. laevis, peripheral auditory sensitivity to their species own dyad-two, species-specific dominant frequencies in the male advertisement call-is enhanced relative to males. Males were most sensitive to lower frequencies including those in the male-directed release calls. Frequency sensitivity was influenced by endocrine state; ovariectomized females had male-like auditory tuning while dihydrotestosterone-treated, ovariectomized females maintained female-like tuning. Thus, adult, female Xenopus demonstrate an endocrine-dependent sensitivity to the spectral features of conspecific male advertisement calls that could facilitate mating. Xenopus AEPs resemble those of other species in stimulus and level dependence, and in sensitivity to anesthetic (MS222). AEPs were correlated with body size and sex within some species. A frequency following response, probably encoded by the amphibian papilla, might facilitate dyad source localization via interaural time differences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ian C Hall
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, Fairchild Building, MC 2432, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
- Department of Biology, St. Mary's College of Maryland, Schaeffer Hall 258, St. Mary's City, MD, 20686, USA.
| | - Sarah M N Woolley
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, Schermerhorn Hall, MC 5501, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Ursula Kwong-Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, Fairchild Building, MC 2432, New York, NY, 10027, USA
- Center for New Music and Audio Technologies, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Darcy B Kelley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, Fairchild Building, MC 2432, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Bergan JF. Neural Computation and Neuromodulation Underlying Social Behavior. Integr Comp Biol 2015; 55:268-80. [PMID: 26089436 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icv061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Social behaviors are as diverse as the animals that employ them, with some behaviors, like affiliation and aggression, expressed in nearly all social species. Whether discussing a "family" of beavers or a "murder" of crows, the elaborate language we use to describe social animals immediately hints at patterns of behavior typical of each species. Neuroscience has now revealed a core network of regions of the brain that are essential for the production of social behavior. Like the behaviors themselves, neuromodulation and hormonal changes regulate the underlying neural circuits on timescales ranging from momentary events to an animal's lifetime. Dynamic and heavily interconnected social circuits provide a distinct challenge for developing a mechanistic understanding of social behavior. However, advances in neuroscience continue to generate an explanation of social behavior based on the electrical activity and synaptic connections of neurons embedded in defined neural circuits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph F Bergan
- Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Forlano PM, Kim SD, Krzyminska ZM, Sisneros JA. Catecholaminergic connectivity to the inner ear, central auditory, and vocal motor circuitry in the plainfin midshipman fish porichthys notatus. J Comp Neurol 2014; 522:2887-927. [PMID: 24715479 PMCID: PMC4107124 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2014] [Revised: 03/25/2014] [Accepted: 03/28/2014] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Although the neuroanatomical distribution of catecholaminergic (CA) neurons has been well documented across all vertebrate classes, few studies have examined CA connectivity to physiologically and anatomically identified neural circuitry that controls behavior. The goal of this study was to characterize CA distribution in the brain and inner ear of the plainfin midshipman fish (Porichthys notatus) with particular emphasis on their relationship with anatomically labeled circuitry that both produces and encodes social acoustic signals in this species. Neurobiotin labeling of the main auditory end organ, the saccule, combined with tyrosine hydroxylase immunofluorescence (TH-ir) revealed a strong CA innervation of both the peripheral and central auditory system. Diencephalic TH-ir neurons in the periventricular posterior tuberculum, known to be dopaminergic, send ascending projections to the ventral telencephalon and prominent descending projections to vocal-acoustic integration sites, notably the hindbrain octavolateralis efferent nucleus, as well as onto the base of hair cells in the saccule via nerve VIII. Neurobiotin backfills of the vocal nerve in combination with TH-ir revealed CA terminals on all components of the vocal pattern generator, which appears to largely originate from local TH-ir neurons but may include input from diencephalic projections as well. This study provides strong neuroanatomical evidence that catecholamines are important modulators of both auditory and vocal circuitry and acoustic-driven social behavior in midshipman fish. This demonstration of TH-ir terminals in the main end organ of hearing in a nonmammalian vertebrate suggests a conserved and important anatomical and functional role for dopamine in normal audition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul M. Forlano
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY 11210
- Programs in Neuroscience, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, and Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY 11210
- Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY
- Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543
| | - Spencer D. Kim
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY 11210
| | - Zuzanna M. Krzyminska
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY 11210
| | - Joseph A. Sisneros
- Departments of Psychology and Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195
- Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center, Seattle
- Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Remage-Healey L. Frank Beach Award Winner: Steroids as neuromodulators of brain circuits and behavior. Horm Behav 2014; 66:552-60. [PMID: 25110187 PMCID: PMC4180446 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2014] [Revised: 07/30/2014] [Accepted: 07/31/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Neurons communicate primarily via action potentials that transmit information on the timescale of milliseconds. Neurons also integrate information via alterations in gene transcription and protein translation that are sustained for hours to days after initiation. Positioned between these two signaling timescales are the minute-by-minute actions of neuromodulators. Over the course of minutes, the classical neuromodulators (such as serotonin, dopamine, octopamine, and norepinephrine) can alter and/or stabilize neural circuit patterning as well as behavioral states. Neuromodulators allow many flexible outputs from neural circuits and can encode information content into the firing state of neural networks. The idea that steroid molecules can operate as genuine behavioral neuromodulators - synthesized by and acting within brain circuits on a minute-by-minute timescale - has gained traction in recent years. Evidence for brain steroid synthesis at synaptic terminals has converged with evidence for the rapid actions of brain-derived steroids on neural circuits and behavior. The general principle emerging from this work is that the production of steroid hormones within brain circuits can alter their functional connectivity and shift sensory representations by enhancing their information coding. Steroids produced in the brain can therefore change the information content of neuronal networks to rapidly modulate sensory experience and sensorimotor functions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luke Remage-Healey
- Neuroscience and Behavior Program, Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 01003, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Preferential loss of dorsal-hippocampus synapses underlies memory impairments provoked by short, multimodal stress. Mol Psychiatry 2014; 19:811-22. [PMID: 24589888 PMCID: PMC4074447 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2014.12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2013] [Revised: 12/21/2013] [Accepted: 01/06/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The cognitive effects of stress are profound, yet it is unknown if the consequences of concurrent multiple stresses on learning and memory differ from those of a single stress of equal intensity and duration. We compared the effects on hippocampus-dependent memory of concurrent, hours-long light, loud noise, jostling and restraint (multimodal stress) with those of restraint or of loud noise alone. We then examined if differences in memory impairment following these two stress types might derive from their differential impact on hippocampal synapses, distinguishing dorsal and ventral hippocampus. Mice exposed to hours-long restraint or loud noise were modestly or minimally impaired in novel object recognition, whereas similar-duration multimodal stress provoked severe deficits. Differences in memory were not explained by differences in plasma corticosterone levels or numbers of Fos-labeled neurons in stress-sensitive hypothalamic neurons. However, although synapses in hippocampal CA3 were impacted by both restraint and multimodal stress, multimodal stress alone reduced synapse numbers severely in dorsal CA1, a region crucial for hippocampus-dependent memory. Ventral CA1 synapses were not significantly affected by either stress modality. Probing the basis of the preferential loss of dorsal synapses after multimodal stress, we found differential patterns of neuronal activation by the two stress types. Cross-correlation matrices, reflecting functional connectivity among activated regions, demonstrated that multimodal stress reduced hippocampal correlations with septum and thalamus and increased correlations with amygdala and BST. Thus, despite similar effects on plasma corticosterone and on hypothalamic stress-sensitive cells, multimodal and restraint stress differ in their activation of brain networks and in their impact on hippocampal synapses. Both of these processes might contribute to amplified memory impairments following short, multimodal stress.
Collapse
|
24
|
Starnberger I, Preininger D, Hödl W. From uni- to multimodality: towards an integrative view on anuran communication. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2014; 200:777-87. [PMID: 24973893 PMCID: PMC4138437 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-014-0923-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2014] [Revised: 06/06/2014] [Accepted: 06/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Undeniably, acoustic signals are the predominant mode of communication in frogs and toads. Acoustically active species are found throughout the vast diversity of anuran families. However, additional or alternative signal modalities have gained increasing attention. In several anurans, seismic, visual and chemical communications have convergently evolved due to ecological constraints such as noisy environments. The production of a visual cue, like the inevitably moving vocal sac of acoustically advertising males, is emphasized by conspicuously coloured throats. Limb movements accompanied by dynamic displays of bright colours are additional examples of striking visual signals independent of vocalizations. In some multimodal anuran communication systems, the acoustic component acts as an alert signal, which alters the receiver attention to the following visual display. Recent findings of colourful glands on vocal sacs, producing volatile species-specific scent bouquets suggest the possibility of integration of acoustic, visual and chemical cues in species recognition and mate choice. The combination of signal components facilitates a broadened display repertoire in challenging environmental conditions. Thus, the complexity of the communication systems of frogs and toads may have been underestimated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Iris Starnberger
- Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria,
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
25
|
Wong RY, Cummings ME. Expression Patterns of Neuroligin-3 and Tyrosine Hydroxylase across the Brain in Mate Choice Contexts in Female Swordtails. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2014; 83:231-43. [DOI: 10.1159/000360071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2013] [Accepted: 01/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
26
|
Petersen CL, Timothy M, Kim DS, Bhandiwad AA, Mohr RA, Sisneros JA, Forlano PM. Exposure to advertisement calls of reproductive competitors activates vocal-acoustic and catecholaminergic neurons in the plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus. PLoS One 2013; 8:e70474. [PMID: 23936438 PMCID: PMC3735598 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2013] [Accepted: 06/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
While the neural circuitry and physiology of the auditory system is well studied among vertebrates, far less is known about how the auditory system interacts with other neural substrates to mediate behavioral responses to social acoustic signals. One species that has been the subject of intensive neuroethological investigation with regard to the production and perception of social acoustic signals is the plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus, in part because acoustic communication is essential to their reproductive behavior. Nesting male midshipman vocally court females by producing a long duration advertisement call. Females localize males by their advertisement call, spawn and deposit all their eggs in their mate’s nest. As multiple courting males establish nests in close proximity to one another, the perception of another male’s call may modulate individual calling behavior in competition for females. We tested the hypothesis that nesting males exposed to advertisement calls of other males would show elevated neural activity in auditory and vocal-acoustic brain centers as well as differential activation of catecholaminergic neurons compared to males exposed only to ambient noise. Experimental brains were then double labeled by immunofluorescence (-ir) for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), an enzyme necessary for catecholamine synthesis, and cFos, an immediate-early gene product used as a marker for neural activation. Males exposed to other advertisement calls showed a significantly greater percentage of TH-ir cells colocalized with cFos-ir in the noradrenergic locus coeruleus and the dopaminergic periventricular posterior tuberculum, as well as increased numbers of cFos-ir neurons in several levels of the auditory and vocal-acoustic pathway. Increased activation of catecholaminergic neurons may serve to coordinate appropriate behavioral responses to male competitors. Additionally, these results implicate a role for specific catecholaminergic neuronal groups in auditory-driven social behavior in fishes, consistent with a conserved function in social acoustic behavior across vertebrates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher L. Petersen
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
| | - Miky Timothy
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
| | - D. Spencer Kim
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
| | - Ashwin A. Bhandiwad
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Robert A. Mohr
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Joseph A. Sisneros
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- Virginia Bloedel Hearing Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Paul M. Forlano
- Department of Biology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
- Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America
- Programs in Neuroscience, and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Maruska KP, Zhang A, Neboori A, Fernald RD. Social opportunity causes rapid transcriptional changes in the social behaviour network of the brain in an African cichlid fish. J Neuroendocrinol 2013; 25:145-57. [PMID: 22958303 PMCID: PMC3537875 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2012.02382.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2012] [Revised: 08/11/2012] [Accepted: 09/02/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Animals constantly integrate external stimuli with their own internal physiological state to make appropriate behavioural decisions. Little is known, however, about where in the brain the salience of these signals is evaluated, or which neural and transcriptional mechanisms link this integration to adaptive behaviours. We used an African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni to test the hypothesis that a new social opportunity activates the conserved 'social behaviour network' (SBN), a collection of brain nuclei known to regulate social behaviours across vertebrates. We measured mRNA levels of immediate early genes (IEGs) in microdissected brain regions as a proxy for neuronal activation, and discovered that IEGs were higher in all SBN nuclei in males that were given an opportunity to rise in social rank compared to control stable subordinate and dominant individuals. Furthermore, because the presence of sex-steroid receptors is one defining criteria of SBN nuclei, we also tested whether social opportunity or status influenced androgen and oestrogen receptor mRNA levels within these same regions. There were several rapid region-specific changes in receptor mRNA levels induced by social opportunity, most notably in oestrogen receptor subtypes in areas that regulate social aggression and reproduction, suggesting that oestrogenic signalling pathways play an important role in regulating male status. Several receptor mRNA changes occurred in regions with putative homologies to the mammalian septum and extended amygdala, two regions shared by SBN and reward circuits, suggesting an important role in the integration of social salience, stressors, hormonal state and adaptive behaviours. We also demonstrated increases in plasma sex- and stress-steroids at 30 min after a rise in social rank. This rapid endocrine and transcriptional response suggests that the SBN is involved in the integration of social inputs with internal hormonal state to facilitate the transition to dominant status, which ultimately leads to improved fitness for the previously reproductively-suppressed individual.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K P Maruska
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
28
|
Wong RY, Ramsey ME, Cummings ME. Localizing brain regions associated with female mate preference behavior in a swordtail. PLoS One 2012; 7:e50355. [PMID: 23209722 PMCID: PMC3510203 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2012] [Accepted: 10/23/2012] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Female mate choice behavior is a critical component of sexual selection, yet identifying the neural basis of this behavior is largely unresolved. Previous studies have implicated sensory processing and hypothalamic brain regions during female mate choice and there is a conserved network of brain regions (Social Behavior Network, SBN) that underlies sexual behaviors. However, we are only beginning to understand the role this network has in pre-copulatory female mate choice. Using in situ hybridization, we identify brain regions associated with mate preference in female Xiphophorus nigrensis, a swordtail species with a female choice mating system. We measure gene expression in 10 brain regions (linked to sexual behavior, reward, sensory integration or other processes) and find significant correlations between female preference behavior and gene expression in two telencephalic areas associated with reward, learning and multi-sensory processing (medial and lateral zones of the dorsal telencephalon) as well as an SBN region traditionally associated with sexual response (preoptic area). Network analysis shows that these brain regions may also be important in mate preference and that correlated patterns of neuroserpin expression between regions co-vary with differential compositions of the mate choice environment. Our results expand the emerging network for female preference from one that focused on sensory processing and midbrain sexual response centers to a more complex coordination involving forebrain areas that integrate primary sensory processing and reward.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Y Wong
- Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
29
|
Abstract
Female mate choice behaviour has significant evolutionary consequences, yet its mechanistic origins are not fully understood. Recent studies of female sensory systems have made great strides in identifying internal mechanisms governing female preferences. Only recently, however, have we begun to identify the dynamic genomic response associated with mate choice behaviour. Poeciliids provide a powerful comparative system to examine genomic responses governing mate choice and female preference behaviour, given the great range of mating systems: from female mate choice taxa with ornamental courting males to species lacking male ornamentation and exhibiting only male coercion. Furthermore, they exhibit laboratory-tractable preference responses without sexual contact that are decoupled from reproductive state, allowing investigators to isolate mechanisms in the brain without physiological confounds. Early investigations with poeciliid species (Xiphophorus nigrensis and Gambusia affinis) have identified putative candidate genes associated with female preference response and highlight a possible genomic pathway underlying female social interactions with males linked functionally with synaptic plasticity and learning processes. This network is positively correlated with female preference behaviour in the female mate choice species, but appears inhibited in the male coercive species. This behavioural genomics approach provides opportunity to elucidate the fundamental building blocks, and evolutionary dynamics, of sexual selection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Molly E Cummings
- Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Baugh AT, Hoke KL, Ryan MJ. Development of communication behaviour: receiver ontogeny in Túngara frogs and a prospectus for a behavioural evolutionary development. ScientificWorldJournal 2012; 2012:680632. [PMID: 22649307 PMCID: PMC3354594 DOI: 10.1100/2012/680632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2011] [Accepted: 01/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Most studies addressing the development of animal communication have focused on signal production rather than receiver decoding, and similar emphasis has been given to learning over nonlearning. But receivers are an integral part of a communication network, and nonlearned mechanisms appear to be more ubiquitous than learned ones in the communication systems of most animals. Here we review the results of recent experiments and outline future directions for integrative studies on the development of a primarily nonlearned behaviour-recognition of communication signals during ontogeny in a tropical frog. The results suggest that antecedents to adult behaviours might be a common feature of developing organisms. Given the essential role that acoustic communication serves in reproduction for many organisms and that receivers can exert strong influence on the evolution of signals, understanding the evolutionary developmental basis of mate recognition will provide new insights into the evolution of communication systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander T Baugh
- Section of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
31
|
Chen CC, Wada K, Jarvis ED. Radioactive in situ hybridization for detecting diverse gene expression patterns in tissue. J Vis Exp 2012:3764. [PMID: 22566072 PMCID: PMC3466668 DOI: 10.3791/3764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowing the timing, level, cellular localization, and cell type that a gene is expressed in contributes to our understanding of the function of the gene. Each of these features can be accomplished with in situ hybridization to mRNAs within cells. Here we present a radioactive in situ hybridization method modified from Clayton et al. (1988)1 that has been working successfully in our lab for many years, especially for adult vertebrate brains2-5. The long complementary RNA (cRNA) probes to the target sequence allows for detection of low abundance transcripts6,7. Incorporation of radioactive nucleotides into the cRNA probes allows for further detection sensitivity of low abundance transcripts and quantitative analyses, either by light sensitive x-ray film or emulsion coated over the tissue. These detection methods provide a long-term record of target gene expression. Compared with non-radioactive probe methods, such as DIG-labeling, the radioactive probe hybridization method does not require multiple amplification steps using HRP-antibodies and/or TSA kit to detect low abundance transcripts. Therefore, this method provides a linear relation between signal intensity and targeted mRNA amounts for quantitative analysis. It allows processing 100-200 slides simultaneously. It works well for different developmental stages of embryos. Most developmental studies of gene expression use whole embryos and non-radioactive approaches8,9, in part because embryonic tissue is more fragile than adult tissue, with less cohesion between cells, making it difficult to see boundaries between cell populations with tissue sections. In contrast, our radioactive approach, due to the larger range of sensitivity, is able to obtain higher contrast in resolution of gene expression between tissue regions, making it easier to see boundaries between populations. Using this method, researchers could reveal the possible significance of a newly identified gene, and further predict the function of the gene of interest.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Chun Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
32
|
Immonen E, Ritchie MG. The genomic response to courtship song stimulation in female Drosophila melanogaster. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:1359-65. [PMID: 21976688 PMCID: PMC3282362 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2011] [Accepted: 09/12/2011] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Courtship behaviour involves a complex exchange of signals and responses. These are usually studied at the phenotypic level, and genetic or transcriptional responses to courtship are still poorly understood. Here, we examine the gene-expression changes in Drosophila melanogaster females in response to one of the key male courtship signals in mate recognition, song produced by male wing vibration. Using long oligonucleotide microarrays, we identified several genes that responded differentially to the presence or absence of acoustic courtship stimulus. These changes were modest in both the number of genes involved and fold-changes, but notably dominated by antennal signalling genes involved in olfaction as well as neuropeptides and immune response genes. Second, we compared the expression patterns of females stimulated with synthetic song typical of either conspecific or heterospecific (Drosophila simulans) males. In this case, antennal olfactory signalling and innate immunity genes were also enriched among the differentially expressed genes. We confirmed and investigated the time course of expression differences of two identified immunity genes using real-time quantitative PCR. Our results provide novel insight into specific molecular changes in females in response to courtship song stimulation. These may be involved in both signal perception and interpretation and some may anticipate molecular interactions that occur between the sexes after mating.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael G. Ritchie
- Centre for Evolution, Genes and Genomics, School of Biology, Dyers Brae House, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Maruska KP, Fernald RD. Social Regulation of Gene Expression in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis. Physiology (Bethesda) 2011; 26:412-23. [DOI: 10.1152/physiol.00032.2011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Reproduction is a critically important event in every animals' life and in all vertebrates is controlled by the brain via the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. In many species, this axis, and hence reproductive fitness, can be profoundly influenced by the social environment. Here, we review how the reception of information in a social context causes genomic changes at each level of the HPG axis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karen P. Maruska
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | | |
Collapse
|
34
|
O'Connell LA, Hofmann HA. Genes, hormones, and circuits: an integrative approach to study the evolution of social behavior. Front Neuroendocrinol 2011; 32:320-35. [PMID: 21163292 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2010.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2010] [Revised: 12/03/2010] [Accepted: 12/09/2010] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Tremendous progress has been made in our understanding of the ultimate and proximate mechanisms underlying social behavior, yet an integrative evolutionary analysis of its underpinnings has been difficult. In this review, we propose that modern genomic approaches can facilitate such studies by integrating four approaches to brain and behavior studies: (1) animals face many challenges and opportunities that are ecologically and socially equivalent across species; (2) they respond with species-specific, yet quantifiable and comparable approach and avoidance behaviors; (3) these behaviors in turn are regulated by gene modules and neurochemical codes; and (4) these behaviors are governed by brain circuits such as the mesolimbic reward system and the social behavior network. For each approach, we discuss genomic and other studies that have shed light on various aspects of social behavior and its underpinnings and suggest promising avenues for future research into the evolution of neuroethological systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren A O'Connell
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78705, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
35
|
O’Connell LA, Ding JH, Ryan MJ, Hofmann HA. Neural distribution of the nuclear progesterone receptor in the túngara frog, Physalaemus pustulosus. J Chem Neuroanat 2011; 41:137-47. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2011.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2010] [Revised: 12/24/2010] [Accepted: 01/03/2011] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
36
|
Hoke KL, Ryan MJ, Wilczynski W. Sexually dimorphic sensory gating drives behavioral differences in tungara frogs. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011; 213:3463-72. [PMID: 20889827 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.043992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Males and females can differ both in the social behaviors they perform and in the contexts in which they engage in these behaviors. One possible mechanism of sex differences in behavior is a sexual dimorphism in the relay of sensory information to motor areas, but no studies have examined the role of such a relay in vertebrate sexually dimorphic behaviors. We used egr-1 expression as a marker of neural activation in frogs exposed to conspecific and heterospecific acoustic signals to compare activation patterns throughout the brains of males and females. We determined how the sexes differ in the transformation of social signals into motor responses in the context of social communication. We examined the relationships between egr-1 mRNA levels in the auditory midbrain and forebrain areas, as well as how forebrain expression related to the behavioral responses of the animals. Forebrain network activation patterns and forebrain-behavior relationships were similar in males and females. By contrast, we found a sex difference in the relationship between midbrain and forebrain activation; midbrain auditory responses predicted forebrain responses in females but not in males. This sex difference suggests that sensory inputs differentially regulate motor systems underlying social behaviors in males and females. This sensorimotor transformation may be a common locus for generating sex differences in behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kim L Hoke
- Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C0930, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
37
|
Mangiamele LA, Thomson CJ, Lebonville CL, Burmeister SS. Characterization of the plasticity-related gene, Arc, in the frog brain. Dev Neurobiol 2011; 70:813-25. [PMID: 20602363 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.20817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
In mammals, expression of the immediate early gene Arc/Arg3.1 in the brain is induced by exposure to novel environments, reception of sensory stimuli, and production of learned behaviors, suggesting a potentially important role in neural and behavioral plasticity. To date, Arc has only been characterized in a few species of mammals and birds, which limits our ability to understand its role in modifying behavior. To begin to address this gap, we identified Arc in two frog species, Xenopus tropicalis and Physalaemus pustulosus, and characterized its expression in the brain of P. pustulosus. We found that the predicted protein for frog Arc shared 60% sequence similarity with Arc in other vertebrates, and we observed high Arc expression in the forebrain, but not the midbrain or hindbrain, of female túngara frogs sacrificed at breeding ponds. We also examined the time-course of Arc induction in the medial pallium, the homologue of the mammalian hippocampus, in response to a recording of a P. pustulosus mating chorus and found that accumulation of Arc mRNA peaked 0.75 h following stimulus onset. We found that the mating chorus also induced Arc expression in the lateral and ventral pallia and the medial septum, but not in the striatum, hypothalamus, or auditory midbrain. Finally, we examined acoustically induced Arc expression in response to different types of mating calls and found that Arc expression levels in the pallium and septum did not vary with the biological relevance or acoustic complexity of the signal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lisa A Mangiamele
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3280, USA.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
38
|
Maney DL, Goodson JL. Neurogenomic mechanisms of aggression in songbirds. ADVANCES IN GENETICS 2011; 75:83-119. [PMID: 22078478 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-380858-5.00002-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Our understanding of the biological basis of aggression in all vertebrates, including humans, has been built largely upon discoveries first made in birds. A voluminous literature now indicates that hormonal mechanisms are shared between humans and a number of avian species. Research on genetics mechanisms in birds has lagged behind the more typical laboratory species because the necessary tools have been lacking until recently. Over the past 30 years, three major technical advances have propelled forward our understanding of the hormonal, neural, and genetic bases of aggression in birds: (1) the development of assays to measure plasma levels of hormones in free-living individuals, or "field endocrinology"; (2) the immunohistochemical labeling of immediate early gene products to map neural responses to social stimuli; and (3) the sequencing of the zebra finch genome, which makes available a tremendous set of genomic tools for studying gene sequences, expression, and chromosomal structure in species for which we already have large datasets on aggressive behavior. This combination of hormonal, neuroendocrine, and genetic tools has established songbirds as powerful models for understanding the neural basis and evolution of aggression in vertebrates. In this chapter, we discuss the contributions of field endocrinology toward a theoretical framework linking aggression with sex steroids, explore evidence that the neural substrates of aggression are conserved across vertebrate species, and describe a promising new songbird model for studying the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying aggression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Donna L Maney
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
39
|
Abstract
Gene recruitment played a critical role in metazoan evolution. Yet, there is no consensus on whether it is an accidental event or a result of an inherent "gene recruiting" mechanism. The prevailing opinion among biologists is that gene recruitment results from random changes in genes or their regulatory regions, but the supporting evidence is poor and controversial. Herein, I present a mechanism in which gene recruitment is a neurally determined event, an adaptive response to changes in environmental conditions. In support of the hypothesis, I present evidence on the manipulative expression of genes in the central nervous system, as well as neurally determined examples of gene recruitment in transgenerational developmental plasticity and in evolution of metazoans.
Collapse
|
40
|
O'Connell LA, Matthews BJ, Ryan MJ, Hofmann HA. Characterization of the dopamine system in the brain of the túngara frog, Physalaemus pustulosus. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2010; 76:211-25. [PMID: 21099197 DOI: 10.1159/000321715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2010] [Accepted: 09/27/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine is an evolutionarily ancient neurotransmitter that plays an essential role in mediating behavior. In vertebrates, dopamine is central to the mesolimbic reward system, a neural network concerned with the valuation of stimulus salience, and to the nigrostriatal motor system and hypothalamic nuclei involved in the regulation of locomotion and social behavior. In amphibians, dopaminergic neurons have been mapped out in several species, yet the distribution of dopaminoreceptive cells is unknown. The túngara frog, Physalaemus pustulosus, is an excellent model system for the study of neural mechanisms by which valuations of stimuli salience and social decisions are made, especially in the context of mate choice. In order to better understand where dopamine acts to regulate social decisions in this species, we have determined the distribution of putative dopaminergic cells (using tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry) and cells receptive to dopaminergic signaling (using DARPP-32 immunohistochemistry) throughout the brain of P. pustulosus. The distribution of dopaminergic cells was comparable to other anurans. DARPP-32 immunoreactivity was identified in key brain regions known to modulate social behavior in other vertebrates including the proposed anuran homologues of the mammalian amygdalar complex, nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, striatum, preoptic area, anterior hypothalamus, ventromedial hypothalamus, and ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra pars compacta. Due to its widespread distribution, DARPP-32 likely also plays many roles in non-limbic brain regions that mediate non-social information processing. These results significantly extend our understanding of the distribution of the dopaminergic system in the anuran brain and beyond.
Collapse
|
41
|
The behavioral neuroscience of anuran social signal processing. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2010; 20:754-63. [PMID: 20863685 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2010.08.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2010] [Revised: 08/23/2010] [Accepted: 08/25/2010] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Acoustic communication is the major component of social behavior in anuran amphibians (frogs and toads) and has served as a neuroethological model for the nervous system's processing of social signals related to mate choice decisions. The male's advertisement or mating call is its most conspicuous social signal, and the nervous system's analysis of the call is a progressive process. As processing proceeds through neural systems, response properties become more specific to the signal and, in addition, neural activity gradually shifts from representing sensory (auditory periphery and brainstem) to sensorimotor (diencephalon) to motor (forebrain) components of a behavioral response. A comparative analysis of many anuran species shows that the first stage in biasing responses toward conspecific signals over heterospecific signals, and toward particular features of conspecific signals, lies in the tuning of the peripheral auditory system. Biases in processing signals are apparent through the brainstem auditory system, where additional feature detection neurons are added by the time processing reaches the level of the midbrain. Recent work using immediate early gene expression as a marker of neural activity suggests that by the level of the midbrain and forebrain, the differential neural representation of conspecific and heterospecific signals involves both changes in mean activity levels across multiple subnuclei, and in the functional correlations among acoustically active areas. Our data show that in frogs the auditory midbrain appears to play an important role in controlling behavioral responses to acoustic social signals by acting as a regulatory gateway between the stimulus analysis of the brainstem and the behavioral and physiological control centers of the forebrain. We predict that this will hold true for other vertebrate groups such as birds and fish that produce acoustic social signals, and perhaps also in fish where electroreception or vibratory sensing through the lateral line systems plays a role in social signaling, as in all these cases ascending sensory information converges onto midbrain nuclei which relay information to higher brain centers.
Collapse
|
42
|
Chakraborty M, Burmeister SS. Sexually dimorphic androgen and estrogen receptor mRNA expression in the brain of túngara frogs. Horm Behav 2010; 58:619-27. [PMID: 20600046 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2010] [Revised: 06/03/2010] [Accepted: 06/17/2010] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Sex steroid hormones are potent regulators of behavior and they exert their effects through influences on sensory, motor, and motivational systems. To elucidate where androgens and estrogens can act to regulate sex-typical behaviors in the túngara frog (Physalaemus pustulosus), we quantified expression of the androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha), and estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) genes in the brains of male and females. To do so, we cloned túngara-specific sequences for AR, ERalpha, and ERbeta, determined their distribution in the brain, and then quantified their expression in areas that are important in sexual communication. We found that AR, ERalpha, and ERbeta were expressed in the pallium, limbic forebrain (preoptic area, hypothalamus, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, septum, striatum), parts of the thalamus, and the auditory midbrain (torus semicircularis). Males and females had a similar distribution of AR and ER expression, but expression levels differed in some brain regions. In the auditory midbrain, females had higher ERalpha and ERbeta expression than males, whereas males had higher AR expression than females. In the forebrain, females had higher AR expression than males in the ventral hypothalamus and medial pallium (homolog to hippocampus), whereas males had higher ERalpha expression in the medial pallium. In the preoptic area, striatum, and septum, males and females had similar levels of AR and ER expression. Our results suggest that sex steroid hormones have sexually dimorphic effects on auditory processing, sexual motivation, and possibly memory and, therefore, have important implications for sexual communication in this system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mukta Chakraborty
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
43
|
|
44
|
|
45
|
Goodson JL, Kabelik D. Dynamic limbic networks and social diversity in vertebrates: from neural context to neuromodulatory patterning. Front Neuroendocrinol 2009; 30:429-441. [PMID: 19520105 PMCID: PMC2763925 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2009.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 163] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2009] [Revised: 05/11/2009] [Accepted: 05/22/2009] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Vertebrate animals exhibit a spectacular diversity of social behaviors, yet a variety of basic social behavior processes are essential to all species. These include social signaling; discrimination of conspecifics and sexual partners; appetitive and consummatory sexual behaviors; aggression and dominance behaviors; and parental behaviors (the latter with rare exceptions). These behaviors are of fundamental importance and are regulated by an evolutionarily conserved, core social behavior network (SBN) of the limbic forebrain and midbrain. The SBN encodes social information in a highly dynamic, distributed manner, such that behavior is most strongly linked to the pattern of neural activity across the SBN, not the activity of single loci. Thus, shifts in the relative weighting of activity across SBN nodes can conceivably produce almost limitless variation in behavior, including diversity across species (as weighting is modified through evolution), across behavioral contexts (as weights change temporally) and across behavioral phenotypes (as weighting is specified through heritable and developmental processes). Individual neural loci may also express diverse relationships to behavior, depending upon temporal variations in their functional connectivity to other brain regions ("neural context"). We here review the basic properties of the SBN and show how behavioral variation relates to functional connectivity of the network, and discuss ways in which neuroendocrine factors adjust network activity to produce behavioral diversity. In addition to the actions of steroid hormones on SBN state, we examine the temporally plastic and evolutionarily labile properties of the nonapeptides (the vasopressin- and oxytocin-like neuropeptides), and show how variations in nonapeptide signaling within the SBN serve to promote behavioral diversity across social contexts, seasons, phenotypes and species. Although this diversity is daunting in its complexity, the search for common "organizing principles" has become increasingly fruitful. We focus on multiple aspects of behavior, including sexual behavior, aggression and affiliation, and in each of these areas, we show how broadly relevant insights have been obtained through the examination of behavioral diversity in a wide range of vertebrate taxa.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James L Goodson
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
| | - David Kabelik
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Arch VS, Narins PM. Sexual hearing: the influence of sex hormones on acoustic communication in frogs. Hear Res 2009; 252:15-20. [PMID: 19272318 PMCID: PMC2722832 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2009.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2008] [Revised: 12/17/2008] [Accepted: 01/12/2009] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The majority of anuran amphibians (frogs and toads) use acoustic communication to mediate sexual behavior and reproduction. Generally, females find and select their mates using acoustic cues provided by males in the form of conspicuous advertisement calls. In these species, vocal signal production and reception are intimately tied to successful reproduction. Research with anurans has demonstrated that acoustic communication is modulated by reproductive hormones, including gonadal steroids and peptide neuromodulators. Most of these studies have focused on the ways in which hormonal systems influence vocal signal production; however, here we will concentrate on a growing body of literature that examines hormonal modulation of call reception. This literature suggests that reproductive hormones contribute to the coordination of reproductive behaviors between signaler and receiver by modulating sensitivity and spectral filtering of the anuran auditory system. It has become evident that the hormonal systems that influence reproductive behaviors are highly conserved among vertebrate taxa. Thus, studying the endocrine and neuromodulatory bases of acoustic communication in frogs and toads can lead to insights of broader applicability to hormonal modulation of vertebrate sensory physiology and behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Victoria S. Arch
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Dr. South Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| | - Peter M. Narins
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Dr. South Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
- Department of Physiological Science, University of California, Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Dr. South Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Hoke KL, Ryan MJ, Wilczynski W. Candidate neural locus for sex differences in reproductive decisions. Biol Lett 2008; 4:518-21. [PMID: 18611839 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection and signal detection theories predict that females should be selective in their responses to mating signals in mate choice, while the response of males to signals in male competition should be less selective. The neural processes underlying this behavioural sex difference remain obscure. Differences in behavioural selectivity could result from differences in how sensitive sensory systems are to mating signals, distinct thresholds in motor areas regulating behaviour, or sex differences in selectivity at a gateway relaying sensory information to motor systems. We tested these hypotheses in frogs using the expression of egr-1 to quantify the neural responses of each sex to mating signals. We found that egr-1 expression in a midbrain auditory region was elevated in males in response to both conspecific and heterospecific calls, whereas in females, egr-1 induction occurred only in response to conspecific signals. This differential neural selectivity mirrored the sex differences in behavioural responsiveness to these stimuli. By contrast, egr-1 expression in lower brainstem auditory centres was not different in males and females. Our results support a model in which sex differences in behavioural selectivity arise from sex differences in the neural selectivity in midbrain areas relaying sensory information to the forebrain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kim L Hoke
- Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C0930, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
48
|
Gallitano-Mendel A, Wozniak DF, Pehek EA, Milbrandt J. Mice lacking the immediate early gene Egr3 respond to the anti-aggressive effects of clozapine yet are relatively resistant to its sedating effects. Neuropsychopharmacology 2008; 33:1266-75. [PMID: 17637609 PMCID: PMC4621766 DOI: 10.1038/sj.npp.1301505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Immediate early genes (IEGs) of the early growth response gene (Egr) family are activated in the brain in response to stress, social stimuli, and administration of psycho-active medications. However, little is known about the role of these genes in the biological or behavioral response to these stimuli. Here we show that mice lacking the IEG transcription factor Egr3 (Egr3-/- mice) display increased aggression, and a decreased latency to attack, in response to the stressful social stimulus of a foreign intruder. Together with our findings of persistent and intrusive olfactory-mediated social investigation of conspecifics, these results suggest increased impulsivity in Egr3-/- mice. We also show that the aggression of Egr3-/- mice is significantly inhibited with chronic administration of the antipsychotic medication clozapine. Despite their sensitivity to this therapeutic effect of clozapine, Egr3-/- mice display a marked resistance to the sedating effects of acute clozapine compared with WT littermate controls. This indicates that the therapeutic, anti-aggressive action of clozapine is separable from its sedating activity, and that the biological abnormality resulting from loss of Egr3 distinguishes these different mechanisms. Thus Egr3-/- mice may provide an important tool for elucidating the mechanism of action of clozapine, as well as for understanding the biology underlying aggressive behavior. Notably, schizophrenia patients display a similar decreased susceptibility to the side effects of antipsychotic medications compared to non-psychiatric controls, despite the medications producing a therapeutic response. This suggests the possibility that Egr3-/- mice may provide insight into the neurobiological abnormalities underlying schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amelia Gallitano-Mendel
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine—Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, USA
- Correspondence: Dr A Gallitano-Mendel, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of MedicineFPhoenix, 550 East Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ 85004-2230, USA, Tel: + 1 602 827 111, Fax: + 1 602 827 2144, or Dr J Milbrandt, Department of Pathology, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8118, St Louis, MO 63110, USA, Tel: + 1 314 362 4650, Fax: + 1 314 362 8756,
| | - David F Wozniak
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Pehek
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University and Louis Stokes Cleveland DVA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Jeffrey Milbrandt
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
- Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
- Correspondence: Dr A Gallitano-Mendel, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of MedicineFPhoenix, 550 East Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ 85004-2230, USA, Tel: + 1 602 827 111, Fax: + 1 602 827 2144, or Dr J Milbrandt, Department of Pathology, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8118, St Louis, MO 63110, USA, Tel: + 1 314 362 4650, Fax: + 1 314 362 8756,
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Cummings ME, Larkins-Ford J, Reilly CRL, Wong RY, Ramsey M, Hofmann HA. Sexual and social stimuli elicit rapid and contrasting genomic responses. Proc Biol Sci 2008; 275:393-402. [PMID: 18055387 PMCID: PMC2212751 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2007.1454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory physiology has been shown to influence female mate choice, yet little is known about the mechanisms within the brain that regulate this critical behaviour. Here we examine preference behaviour of 58 female swordtails, Xiphophorus nigrensis, in four different social environments (attractive and unattractive males, females only, non-attractive males only and asocial conditions) followed by neural gene expression profiling. We used a brain-specific cDNA microarray to identify patterns of genomic response and candidate genes, followed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) examination of gene expression with variation in behaviour. Our microarray results revealed patterns of genomic response differing more between classes of social stimuli than between presence versus absence of stimuli. We identified suites of genes showing diametrically opposed patterns of expression: genes that are turned ‘on’ while females interact with attractive males are turned ‘off’ when interacting with other females, and vice versa. Our qPCR results identified significant predictive relationships between five candidate genes and specific mate choice behaviours (preference and receptivity) across females exposed to males, with no significant patterns identified in female or asocial conditions or with overall locomotor activity. The identification of stimulus- and behaviour-specific responses opens an exciting window into the molecular pathways associated with social behaviour and mechanisms that underlie sexual selection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Molly E Cummings
- Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
50
|
Hoke KL, Ryan MJ, Wilczynski W. Functional coupling between substantia nigra and basal ganglia homologues in amphibians. Behav Neurosci 2008; 121:1393-9. [PMID: 18085893 DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.121.6.1393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Neuroanatomical and pharmacological experiments support the existence of a homologue of the mammalian substantia nigra-basal ganglia circuit in the amphibian brain. Demarcation of borders between the striatum and pallidum in frogs, however, has been contentious, and direct evidence of functional coupling between the putative nigral and striatal homologues is lacking. To clarify basal ganglia function in anurans, the authors used expression of immediate-early gene egr-1 as a marker of neural activation in the basal ganglia of túngara frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus). Regional variation in egr-1 mRNA levels distinguished striatal and pallidal portions of the basal ganglia and supported the grouping of the striatopallidal transition zone with the dorsal pallidum. As further evidence for a functional coupling between the dopaminergic cells in the posterior tuberculum (the putative substantia nigra homologue) and the basal ganglia, a positive relationship was demonstrated between the size of the dopaminergic cell population and the neural activation levels within the dorsal pallidum.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kim L Hoke
- Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, TX 78712, USA.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|