Journal
GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
Volume 16, Issue 6, Pages 601-611Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12389
Keywords
Aggression; cortisol; dopamine; nonapeptides; preoptic area; sex steroid receptors; social context; territorial defense; testosterone
Categories
Funding
- NSF GRF
- Graduate School Continuing Fellowship
- NSF [IOS-1354942, IOS-1501704]
- NSF BEACON Center for Science and Technology
- University Co-Op Undergraduate Research Fellowship
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1354942] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Social context often has profound effects on behavior, yet the neural and molecular mechanisms which mediate flexible behavioral responses to different social environments are not well understood. We used the African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni, to examine aggressive defense behavior across three social contexts representing different motivational states: a reproductive opportunity, a familiar male and a neutral context. To elucidate how differences in behavior across contexts may be mediated by neural gene expression, we examined gene expression in the preoptic area, a brain region known to control male aggressive and sexual behavior. We show that social context has broad effects on preoptic gene expression. Specifically, we found that the expression of genes encoding nonapeptides and sex steroid receptors are upregulated in the familiar male context. Furthermore, circulating levels of testosterone and cortisol varied markedly depending on social context. We also manipulated the D2 receptor (D2R) in each social context, given that it has been implicated in mediating context-dependent behavior. We found that a D2R agonist reduced intruder-directed aggression in the reproductive opportunity and familiar male contexts, while a D2R antagonist inhibited intruder-directed aggression in the reproductive opportunity context and increased aggression in the neutral context. Our results demonstrate a critical role for preoptic gene expression, aswell as circulating steroid hormone levels, in encoding information from the social environment and in shaping adaptive behavior. In addition, they provide further evidence for a role of D2R in context-dependent behavior.
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