Auditory pallial regulation of the social behavior network.

Sensory cues such as vocalizations contain important social information. Processing social features of vocalizations (e.g.

Behavioral convergence in defense behaviors in pair bonded individuals correlates with neuroendocrine receptors in the medial amygdala.

Monogamous, pair-bonded animals coordinate intra-pair behavior for spatially separated challenges including territorial defense and nest attendance. Paired California mice, a monogamous, territorial and biparental species, approach intruders together or separately, but often express behavioral convergence across intruder challenges. To gain a more systems-wide perspective of potential mechanisms contributing to behavioral convergence across two conspecific intruder challenges, we conducted an exploratory study correlating behavior and receptor mRNA (Days 10 and 17 post-pairing).

Top-down, auditory pallial regulation of the social behavior network.

Unlabelled: Social encounters rely on sensory cues that carry nuanced information to guide social decision-making. While high-level features of social signals are processed in the telencephalic pallium, nuclei controlling social behaviors, called the social behavior network (SBN), reside mainly in the diencephalon. Although it is well known how mammalian olfactory pallium interfaces with the SBN, there is little information for how pallial processing of other sensory modalities can modulate SBN circuits.

A neural circuit perspective on brain aromatase.

This review explores the role of aromatase in the brain as illuminated by a set of conserved network-level connections identified in several vertebrate taxa. Aromatase-expressing neurons are neurochemically heterogeneous but the brain regions in which they are found are highly-conserved across the vertebrate lineage. During development, aromatase neurons have a prominent role in sexual differentiation of the brain and resultant sex differences in behavior and human brain diseases.

Genetically identified neurons in avian auditory pallium mirror core principles of their mammalian counterparts.

In vertebrates, advanced cognitive abilities are typically associated with the telencephalic pallium. In mammals, the pallium is a layered mixture of excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations with distinct molecular, physiological, and network phenotypes. This cortical architecture is proposed to support efficient, high-level information processing.

Endogenous opioids facilitate intrinsically-rewarded birdsong.

Many songbirds sing in non-reproductive contexts while in flocks. Singing in such gregarious contexts is critical for maintaining and learning songs; however, song is not directed towards other individuals and has no obvious, immediate social consequences. Studies using conditioned place preference (CPP) tests of reward indicate that song production in gregarious contexts correlates positively with a bird's intrinsic reward state and with opioid markers in the medial preoptic nucleus (mPOA).

Conditioned place preferences induced by hearing song outside the breeding season relate to neural dopamine D and cannabinoid CB receptor gene expression in female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).

The affective state induced by sensory stimuli changes to adaptively modify behaviors that are critical for survival and reproduction. In European starlings, during the spring breeding season, male courtship song is rewarding to females, but only to those that possess resources that are necessary for reproduction (i.e.

Co-localization of mu-opioid and dopamine D1 receptors in the medial preoptic area and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis across seasonal states in male European starlings.

In seasonally breeding animals, changes in photoperiod and sex-steroid hormones may modify sexual behavior in part by altering the activity of neuromodulators, including opioids and dopamine. In rats and birds, activation of mu-opioid receptors (MOR) and dopamine D1 receptors in the medial preoptic area (mPOA) often have opposing effects on sexual behavior, yet mechanisms by which the mPOA integrates these opposing effects to modulate behavior remain unknown. Here, we used male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to provide insight into the hypothesis that MOR and D1 receptors modify sexual behavior seasonally by altering activity in the same neurons in the mPOA.

Nest box exploration may stimulate breeding physiology and alter mRNA expression in the medial preoptic area of female European starlings.

Environmental resources are proposed to fine-tune the timing of breeding, yet how they may do so remains unclear. In female European starlings (), nest cavities are limited resources that are necessary for breeding. Females that explore nest cavities, compared with those that do not, readily perform sexually motivated behaviors.

Co-localization patterns of neurotensin receptor 1 and tyrosine hydroxylase in brain regions involved in motivation and social behavior in male European starlings.

Animals communicate in distinct social contexts to convey information specific to those contexts, such as sexual or agonistic motivation. In seasonally-breeding male songbirds, seasonal changes in day length and increases in testosterone stimulate sexually-motivated song directed at females for courtship and reproduction. Dopamine and testosterone may act in the same brain regions to stimulate sexually-motivated singing.

Song practice as a rewarding form of play in songbirds.

In adult songbirds, the primary functions of song are mate attraction and territory defense; yet, many songbirds sing at high rates as juveniles and outside these primary contexts as adults. Singing outside primary contexts is critical for song learning and maintenance, and ultimately necessary for breeding success. However, this type of singing (i.

Associations Between Environmental Resources and the "Wanting" and "Liking" of Male Song in Female Songbirds.

Reproductive success requires animals to adjust social and sexual behaviors in response to changes in environmental resources. In many species, males produce courtship signals to attract females; however, not all females are attracted by these signals. One possible explanation for this is that environmental resources alter neural mechanisms underlying motivation and reward in females so that male courtship is attractive when conditions are most favorable for an individual to breed.

Song-associated reward correlates with endocannabinoid-related gene expression in male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).

Vocal communication is required for successful social interactions in numerous species. During the breeding season, songbirds produce songs that are reinforced by behavioral consequences (e.g.

Contributions of testosterone and territory ownership to sexually-motivated behaviors and mRNA expression in the medial preoptic area of male European starlings.

Animals integrate social information with their internal endocrine state to control the timing of behavior, but how these signals are integrated in the brain is not understood. The medial preoptic area (mPOA) may play an integrative role in the control of courtship behavior, as it receives projections from multiple sensory systems, and is central to the hormonal control of courtship behavior across vertebrates. Additionally, data from many species implicate opioid and dopaminergic systems in the mPOA in the control of male courtship behavior.