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Mesotocin and nonapeptide receptors promote estrildid flocking behavior.

ABSTRACT: Proximate neural mechanisms that influence preferences for groups of a given size are almost wholly unknown. In the highly gregarious zebra finch (Estrildidae: Taeniopygia guttata), blockade of nonapeptide receptors by an oxytocin (OT) antagonist significantly reduced time spent with large groups and familiar social partners independent of time spent in social contact. Opposing effects were produced by central infusions of mesotocin (MT, avian homolog of OT). Most drug effects appeared to be female-specific. Across five estrildid finch species, species-typical group size correlates with nonapeptide receptor distributions in the lateral septum, and sociality in female zebra finches was reduced by OT antagonist infusions into the septum but not a control area. We propose that titration of sociality by MT represents a phylogenetically deep framework for the evolution of OT's female-specific roles in pair bonding and maternal functions.

SUBMITTER: Goodson JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2862247 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Mesotocin and nonapeptide receptors promote estrildid flocking behavior.

Goodson James L JL Schrock Sara E SE Klatt James D JD Kabelik David D Kingsbury Marcy A MA

Science (New York, N.Y.) 20090801 5942

Proximate neural mechanisms that influence preferences for groups of a given size are almost wholly unknown. In the highly gregarious zebra finch (Estrildidae: Taeniopygia guttata), blockade of nonapeptide receptors by an oxytocin (OT) antagonist significantly reduced time spent with large groups and familiar social partners independent of time spent in social contact. Opposing effects were produced by central infusions of mesotocin (MT, avian homolog of OT). Most drug effects appeared to be fem ...[more]

PMID: 19679811

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Project description:Collective behaviors, including flocking and group vocalizing, are readily observable across a diversity of free-living avian populations, yet we know little about how neural and ecological factors interactively regulate these behaviors. Because of their involvement in mediating a variety of social behaviors, including avian flocking, nonapeptides are likely mediators of collective behaviors. To advance the neuroecological study of collective behaviors in birds, we sought to map the neuroanatomical distributions of nonapeptide receptors in three promising avian models that are found across a diversity of environments and widely ranging ecological conditions: European starlings, house sparrows, and rock doves. We performed receptor autoradiography using the commercially available nonapeptide receptor radioligands, 125I-ornithine vasotocin analog and 125I-linear vasopressin antagonist, on brain tissue sections from wild-caught individuals from each species. Because there is known pharmacological cross-reactivity between nonapeptide receptor subtypes, we also performed a novel, competitive-binding experiment to examine the composition of receptor populations. We detected binding in numerous regions throughout the brains of each species, with several similarities and differences worth noting. Specifically, we report that all three species exhibit binding in the lateral septum, a key brain area known to regulate avian flocking. In addition, sparrows and starlings show dense binding in the dorsal arcopallium, an area that has received scant attention in the study of social grouping. Furthermore, our competitive binding results suggest that receptor populations in sparrows and starlings differ in the lateral septum versus the dorsal arcopallium. By providing the first comprehensive maps of nonapeptide receptors in European starlings, house sparrows, and rock doves, our work supports the future use of these species as avian models for neuroecological studies of collective behaviors in wild birds.

Dataset Information

Mesotocin and nonapeptide receptors promote estrildid flocking behavior.

Publications

Mesotocin and nonapeptide receptors promote estrildid flocking behavior.

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