The transition from a sexual to a parental brain via nest building
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: The Roslin Institute
Abstract
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Technical Summary
We propose that nest building, a widespread avian behaviour, offers a unique opportunity to understand how species rapidly transition from sexual to parental behaviour and may provide insights into the observed individual variation in the timescale of the transition. We have previously established in male zebra finches, T. guttata, that circulating testosterone levels are high during courtship and nest building but drop rapidly shortly after the nest is built.
A fundamental outstanding question is, where in the brain, and through which pathway(s), sex steroids act to support sexual behaviours and the rapid transition into parental behaviours. We will first characterise local variations in sex steroids, cognate receptors, and metabolising enzymes by developing sex-steroid micro-LESA-LC-MS for the avian brain and coupling it with detailed histological and behavioural analyses. This will allow us to understand the behavioural neuroendocrine mechanisms responsible during courtship, nest building and early incubation (Objective 1). We will then determine the specific contribution to these transitions made by sex steroids using pharmacological approaches (Objective 2). Coupled together, these two objectives will highlight where and how specific sex steroids vary across early breeding phases and influence behaviour. Using Next Generation Sequencing, we will dissect the transcriptional and translational regulatory neural network changes across courtship to nest building (Objective 3). We previously established that both sex-steroid sensitive and insensitive brain areas are active during nest building; here we will use neuronal tracers to characterise the neural pathways supporting this behaviour (Objective 4).
Taken together, we will establish significant insight into the neurohormonal mechanisms supporting early breeding stages in birds and will shed light on how the brain supports the transition from a sexual to a parental phase during rapid reproductive events.
A fundamental outstanding question is, where in the brain, and through which pathway(s), sex steroids act to support sexual behaviours and the rapid transition into parental behaviours. We will first characterise local variations in sex steroids, cognate receptors, and metabolising enzymes by developing sex-steroid micro-LESA-LC-MS for the avian brain and coupling it with detailed histological and behavioural analyses. This will allow us to understand the behavioural neuroendocrine mechanisms responsible during courtship, nest building and early incubation (Objective 1). We will then determine the specific contribution to these transitions made by sex steroids using pharmacological approaches (Objective 2). Coupled together, these two objectives will highlight where and how specific sex steroids vary across early breeding phases and influence behaviour. Using Next Generation Sequencing, we will dissect the transcriptional and translational regulatory neural network changes across courtship to nest building (Objective 3). We previously established that both sex-steroid sensitive and insensitive brain areas are active during nest building; here we will use neuronal tracers to characterise the neural pathways supporting this behaviour (Objective 4).
Taken together, we will establish significant insight into the neurohormonal mechanisms supporting early breeding stages in birds and will shed light on how the brain supports the transition from a sexual to a parental phase during rapid reproductive events.
