Social opportunity causes rapid transcriptional changes in the social behaviour network of the brain in an African cichlid fish.

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

SUBMITTER: Maruska KP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3537875 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature