Pharmacological manipulations of dopamine and opioids have differential effects on sexually motivated song in male European starlings

Schroeder, Molly B.; Riters, Lauren V.

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.05.011

Cited by 62 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…However, we here observed very close relationships between TH-Fos colocalization and courtship singing, and also between TH cell number and constitutive courtship motivation, as established through behavioral prescreenings. Considering that TH-ir neurons in the CG and VTA project directly to areas involved in singing and sexual motivation (16,17), and that DA promotes singing (8,28), our interpretations for courting males are fairly straightforward; the more DA neurons that a male exhibits in the CG and caudal VTA, and the greater their Fos activity, the greater the male's behavioral output. This interpretation is likewise consistent with the fact that non-courters express low levels of colocalization after exposure to female.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent findings demonstrate that DA signals derived from the VTA-substantia nigra pars compacta complex are essential for the context-dependent modulation of song in the zebra finch (6,36), and various other findings likewise show that DA is important for the regulation of song (8,28,37). However, previous experiments have found that singing is correlated with immediate early gene expression only within nondopaminergic neurons of the VTA (6,32), although those studies appear to have focused predominantly on the rostral portion of the VTA.…”

Section: Da Neurons Of the Cg Are Strongly Coupled To Song And Reflectmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Midbrain dopamine neurons reflect affiliation phenotypes in finches and are tightly coupled to courtship

Goodson

Kabelik

Kelly

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

102

134

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Mesolimbic dopamine (DA) circuits mediate a wide range of goaloriented behavioral processes, and DA strongly influences appetitive and consummatory aspects of male sexual behavior. In both birds and mammals, mesolimbic projections arise primarily from the ventral tegmental area (VTA), with a smaller contribution from the midbrain central gray (CG). Despite the well known importance of the VTA cell group for incentive motivation functions, relationships of VTA subpopulations to specific aspects of social phenotype remain wholly undescribed. We now show that in male zebra finches (Estrildidae: Taeniopygia guttata), Fos activity within a subpopulation of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir; presumably dopaminergic) neurons in the caudal VTA is significantly correlated with courtship singing and coupled to gonadal state. In addition, the number of TH-ir neurons in this caudal subpopulation dichotomously differentiates courting from noncourting male phenotypes, and evolves in relation to sociality (flocking vs. territorial) across several related finch species. Combined, these findings for the VTA suggest that divergent social phenotypes may arise due to the differential assignment of ''incentive value'' to conspecific stimuli. TH-ir neurons of the CG (a population of unknown function in mammals) exhibit properties that are even more selectively and tightly coupled to the expression of courtship phenotypes (and appetitive courtship singing), both in terms of TH-ir cell number, which correlates significantly with constitutive levels of courtship motivation, and with TH-Fos colocalization, which increases in direct proportion to the phasic expression of song. We propose that these neurons may be core components of social communication circuits across diverse vertebrate taxa.song ͉ evolution ͉ periaqueductal gray ͉ vocalization A ffiliation behaviors such as courtship, pair bonding, grouping, and parental care can vary dramatically across individuals and species. However, despite the fact that we now know a good deal about the neurobiology of affiliation behaviors (1, 2), we still know very little about the phenotypic variations in neural mechanisms that underlie phenotypic differences in behavior. In fact, nonapeptide systems (the vasopressin-and oxytocin-like peptides) arguably provide the only examples from tetrapod vertebrates in which neural mechanisms have been systematically studied in relation to species-specific social structure (e.g., mating system and sociality) and individual differences in affiliation (3, 4).Among the many other neurochemical systems that regulate motivational and behavioral states, mesolimbic dopamine (DA) circuits are perhaps the strongest candidates as generators of phenotypic diversity. DA influences numerous affiliation behaviors such as pair bonding (5), sexual communication (6-8), and copulation (9-11). Of particular interest are DA cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which are well known to regulate incentive and reward-related processes (12, 13). These cells project o...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Da Neurons Of the Cg Are Strongly Coupled To Song And Reflectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Midbrain dopamine neurons reflect affiliation phenotypes in finches and are tightly coupled to courtship

Goodson

Kabelik

Kelly

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

102

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…DA has also been implicated in highly motivated, goal-directed or anticipatory responses to stimuli associated with reward, including sexual behavior, feeding, and the use of drugs of abuse [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. We have found that within a breeding context, peripheral injections of DA agonists stimulate whereas DA antagonists inhibit song produced by male starlings in response to the introduction of a female [23]. In male zebra finches, DA antagonists also inhibit courtship singing [24] and in vivo microdialysis reveals that levels of DA in the avian basal ganglia (Area X) are elevated during song that is directed towards a conspecific [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence that dopamine within motivation and song control brain regions regulates birdsong context-dependently

Heimovics

Riters

2008

Physiology & Behavior

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Vocal communication is critical for successful social interactions among conspecifics, but little is known about how the brain regulates context-appropriate communication. The neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) is involved in modulating highly motivated, goal-directed behaviors (including sexually motivated singing behavior), and emerging data suggest that the role of DA in vocal communication DA may differ depending on the context in which it occurs. To address this possibility, relationships between immunolabeled tyrosine hydroxylase (TH, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis) and song produced within versus outside of a breeding context were explored in male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). Immunocytochemistry for dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH; the enzyme that converts DA to norepinephrine) was also performed to provide insight into whether relationships between song and TH immunoreactivity reflected dopaminergic or noradrenergic neurotransmission. Measures of TH and DBH were quantified in song control regions (HVC, Area X, robust nucleus of the acropallium) and regions implicated in motivation (medial preoptic nucleus (POM), ventral tegmental area (VTA), and midbrain central gray). In Area X, POM, and VTA measures of TH correlated with song produced within, but not outside of a breeding context. DBH in these regions did not correlate with song in either context. Together, these data suggest DA in both song control and motivation brain regions may be more tightly linked to the regulation of highly goal-directed, sexually motivated vocal behavior.

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“…synthetic gene circuits | prosthetic networks | gene regulation | gene switch | designer cells T he constant iteration between memory, providing consolidated information on past experience, and reward, confirming success of current activities, represents the central learning cycle of higher organisms that programs essential processes such as drinking, eating, and reproduction and reinforces complex somatic, social, emotional, mental, and cognitive behavior (1)(2)(3)(4). The neurotransmitter dopamine is a key endogenous molecule that coordinates memory consolidation with learning, controls emotions, and motivates individuals to perform reward-and pleasure-seeking behavior and excel and improve fitness (4-6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reward-based hypertension control by a synthetic brain–dopamine interface

Rössger

Hamri

Fussenegger

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Synthetic biology has significantly advanced the design of synthetic trigger-controlled devices that can reprogram mammalian cells to interface with complex metabolic activities. In the brain, the neurotransmitter dopamine coordinates communication with target neurons via a set of dopamine receptors that control behavior associated with reward-driven learning. This dopamine transmission has recently been suggested to increase central sympathetic outflow, resulting in plasma dopamine levels that correlate with corresponding brain activities. By functionally rewiring the human dopamine receptor D1 (DRD1) via the second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) to synthetic promoters containing cAMP response element-binding protein 1 (CREB1)-specific cAMP-responsive operator modules, we have designed a synthetic dopamine-sensitive transcription controller that reversibly fine-tunes specific target gene expression at physiologically relevant brain-derived plasma dopamine levels. Following implantation of circuit-transgenic human cell lines insulated by semipermeable immunoprotective microcontainers into mice, the designer device interfaced with dopamine-specific brain activities and produced a systemic expression response when the animal's reward system was stimulated by food, sexual arousal, or addictive drugs. Reward-triggered brain activities were able to remotely program peripheral therapeutic implants to produce sufficient amounts of the atrial natriuretic peptide, which reduced the blood pressure of hypertensive mice to the normal physiologic range. Seamless control of therapeutic transgenes by subconscious behavior may provide opportunities for treatment strategies of the future.

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Pharmacological manipulations of dopamine and opioids have differential effects on sexually motivated song in male European starlings

Cited by 62 publications

References 80 publications

Midbrain dopamine neurons reflect affiliation phenotypes in finches and are tightly coupled to courtship

Midbrain dopamine neurons reflect affiliation phenotypes in finches and are tightly coupled to courtship

Evidence that dopamine within motivation and song control brain regions regulates birdsong context-dependently

Reward-based hypertension control by a synthetic brain–dopamine interface

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