ORBi: Heimovics Sarah A. - SEASONAL AND INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN SINGING BEHAVIOR CORRELATES WITH ALPHA 2-NORADRENERGIC RECEPTOR DENSITY IN BRAIN REGIONS IMPLICATED IN SONG, SEXUAL, AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

Reference : SEASONAL AND INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN SINGING BEHAVIOR CORRELATES WITH ALPHA 2-NORADRENER...


	Document type :	Scientific journals : Article
	Discipline(s) :	Social & behavioral sciences, psychology : Neurosciences & behavior
	To cite this reference:	http://hdl.handle.net/2268/101495

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
Language :	English
Author, co-author :	Heimovics, Sarah A. [> >]
	Cornil, Charlotte [Université de Liège - ULg > Département des sciences biomédicales et précliniques > Biologie de la différenciation sexuelle du cerveau >]
	Hellis, J. M. S. [> >]
	Ball, Gregory F. [> >]
	Riters, Lauren V. [> >]
Publication date :	2011
Journal title :	Neuroscience
Publisher :	Elsevier Science
Volume :	182
Pages :	133-143
Peer reviewed :	Yes (verified by ORBi)
Audience :	International
ISSN :	0306-4522
City :	New York
Country :	NY
Keywords :	[en] 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.
Permalink :	http://hdl.handle.net/2268/101495

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