Changes in behavior and brain immediate early gene expression in male threespined sticklebacks as they become fathers.

ABSTRACT: Motherhood is a period of intense behavioral and brain activity. However, we know less about the neural and molecular mechanisms associated with the demands of fatherhood. Here, we report the results of two experiments designed to track changes in behavior and brain activation associated with fatherhood in male threespined stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus), a species in which fathers are the sole providers of parental care. In experiment 1, we tested whether males' behavioral reactions to different social stimuli depends on parental status, i.e. whether they were providing parental care. Parental males visited their nest more in response to social stimuli compared to nonparental males. Rates of courtship behavior were high in non-parental males but low in parental males. In experim

SUBMITTER: Kent M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5771839 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature