SEASONAL AND INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN SINGING BEHAVIOR CORRELATES WITH ALPHA 2-NORADRENERGIC RECEPTOR DENSITY IN BRAIN REGIONS IMPLICATED IN SONG, SEXUAL, AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Heimovics, Sarah A.; Cornil, Charlotte; Hellis, J. M. S.et al.
communication, seasonality, norepinephrine, song control system, social behavior, motivation
Abstract :
[en] In seasonally breeding male songbirds, both the
function of song and the stimuli that elicit singing behavior
change seasonally. The catecholamine norepinephrine (NE)
modulates attention and arousal across behavioral states,
yet the role of NE in seasonally-appropriate vocal communication
has not been well-studied. The present study explored
the possibility that seasonal changes in alpha 2-noradrenergic
receptors (alpha2-R) within song control regions and brain
regions implicated in sexual arousal and social behavior contribute
to seasonal changes in song behavior in male European
starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). We quantified singing behavior
in aviary housed males under spring breeding season
conditions and fall conditions. alpha2-R were identified with the
selective ligand [3H]RX821002 using autoradiographic methods.
The densities of alpha2-R in song control regions (HVC and
the robust nucleus of the arcopallium [RA]) and the lateral
septum (LS) were lower in Spring Condition males. alpha2-R
densities in the caudal portion of the medial preoptic nucleus
(POM) related negatively to singing behavior. Testosterone
concentrations were highest in Spring Condition males and
correlated with alpha2-R in LS and POM. Results link persistent
seasonal alterations in the structure or function of male song
to seasonal changes in NE alpha2-Rs in HVC, RA, and LS. Individual
differences in alpha2-R in the POM may in part explain
individual differences in song production irrespective of the
context in which a male is singing, perhaps through NE
modification of male sexual arousal.
Disciplines :
Neurosciences & behavior
Author, co-author :
Heimovics, Sarah A.
Cornil, Charlotte ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences biomédicales et précliniques > Biologie de la différenciation sexuelle du cerveau
Hellis, J. M. S.
Ball, Gregory F.
Riters, Lauren V.
Language :
English
Title :
SEASONAL AND INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN SINGING BEHAVIOR CORRELATES WITH ALPHA 2-NORADRENERGIC RECEPTOR DENSITY IN BRAIN REGIONS IMPLICATED IN SONG, SEXUAL, AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Publication date :
2011
Journal title :
Neuroscience
ISSN :
0306-4522
eISSN :
1873-7544
Publisher :
Elsevier Science, New York, United States - New York
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