Constitutive gene expression differs in three brain regions important for cognition in neophobic and non-neophobic house sparrows (Passer domesticus).

ABSTRACT: Neophobia (aversion to new objects, food, and environments) is a personality trait that affects the ability of wildlife to adapt to new challenges and opportunities. Despite the ubiquity and importance of this trait, the molecular mechanisms underlying repeatable individual differences in neophobia in wild animals are poorly understood. We evaluated wild-caught house sparrows (Passer domesticus) for neophobia in the lab using novel object tests. We then selected a subset of neophobic and non-neophobic individuals (n = 3 of each, all females) and extracted RNA from four brain regions involved in learning, memory, threat perception, and executive function: striatum, caudal dorsomedial hippocampus, medial ventral arcopallium, and caudolateral nidopallium (NCL). Our analysis of differentially

SUBMITTER: Lattin CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9089922 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature