Social behavior, chemical communication, and adult neurogenesis: Studies of scent mark function in Podarcis wall lizards

Font, Enrique; Barbosa, Diana; Sampedro, Carlos; Carazo, Pau

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2012.02.015

Cited by 55 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…one in November and the other in April to May [Sampedro et al, 2008;Font et al, 2012]. Between those two times, the production of new cells was markedly lower (for both males and females, but overall males had more new cells and larger olfactory bulbs than females).…”

Section: Is the Production Of New Cells In The Brains Of Adult Amphibmentioning

confidence: 94%

Plasticity and Adult Neurogenesis in Amphibians and Reptiles: More Questions than Answers

Powers

2016

Brain Behav Evol

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Studies of the relationship between behavioral plasticity and new cells in the adult brain in amphibians and reptiles are sparse but demonstrate that environmental and hormonal variables do have an effect on the amount of cell proliferation and/or migration. The variables that are reviewed here are: enriched environment, social stimulation, spatial area use, season, photoperiod and temperature, and testosterone. Fewer data are available for amphibians than for reptiles, but for both groups many issues are still to be resolved. It is to be hoped that the questions raised here will generate more answers in future studies.

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Section: Is the Production Of New Cells In The Brains Of Adult Amphibmentioning

confidence: 94%

Plasticity and Adult Neurogenesis in Amphibians and Reptiles: More Questions than Answers

Powers

2016

Brain Behav Evol

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“…Immediately before each trial, one piece of paper from the tile and another from the refuge were moved into each choice area. Thus, the experimental male had access to chemical and visual stimuli of the stimulus male on both sides of the experimental terrarium (Font et al, 2012). However, chemical stimuli were identical in the two choice areas whereas visual stimuli differed in the presence/absence of UV cues.…”

Section: Visual Discrimination Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultraviolet vision in lacertid lizards: evidence from retinal structure, eye transmittance, SWS1 visual pigment genes, and behaviour

Lanuza

Font

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Ultraviolet (UV) vision and UV colour patches have been reported in a wide range of taxa and are increasingly appreciated as an integral part of vertebrate visual perception and communication systems. Previous studies with Lacertidae, a lizard family with diverse and complex coloration, have revealed the existence of UV-reflecting patches that may function as social signals. However, confirmation of the signalling role of UV coloration requires demonstrating that the lizards are capable of vision in the UV waveband. Here we use a multidisciplinary approach to characterize the visual sensitivity of a diverse sample of lacertid species. Spectral transmission measurements of the ocular media show that wavelengths down to 300 nm are transmitted in all the species sampled. Four retinal oil droplet types can be identified in the lacertid retina. Two types are pigmented and two are colourless. Fluorescence microscopy reveals that a type of colourless droplet is UV-transmitting and may thus be associated with UV-sensitive cones. DNA sequencing shows that lacertids have a functional SWS1 opsin, very similar at 13 critical sites to that in the presumed ancestral vertebrate (which was UV sensitive) and other UV-sensitive lizards. Finally, males of Podarcis muralis are capable of discriminating between two views of the same stimulus that differ only in the presence/absence of UV radiance. Taken together, these results provide convergent evidence of UV vision in lacertids, very likely by means of an independent photopigment. Moreover, the presence of four oil droplet types suggests that lacertids have a four-cone colour vision system.

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“…In the 1980s, Fernando Nottebohm and colleagues showed that changes in the songs of canaries correlated with addition of neurons in a brain region (the high vocal center) that controls vocal behavior (Goldman and Nottebohm, 1983;Alvarez-Buylla et al, 1988). Since then, many studies in vertebrates have shown that social interaction influences cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the brain (Lieberwirth and Wang, 2012;Gheusi et al, 2009;Font et al, 2012;Almli and Wilczynski, 2009;Barnea and Pravosudov, 2011). However, given the complexity of social signaling in most species, it is often difficult to identify specific features of social interaction that are effective for influencing neurogenesis.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of long-term social interaction on chirping behavior, steroid levels and neurogenesis in weakly electric fish

Dunlap

Chung

Castellano

2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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IntroductionThe contemporary study of adult neurogenesis has it origins in work on communication behavior. In the 1980s, Fernando Nottebohm and colleagues showed that changes in the songs of canaries correlated with addition of neurons in a brain region (the high vocal center) that controls vocal behavior (Goldman and Nottebohm, 1983;Alvarez-Buylla et al., 1988). Since then, many studies in vertebrates have shown that social interaction influences cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the brain (Lieberwirth and Wang, 2012;Gheusi et al., 2009;Font et al., 2012;Almli and Wilczynski, 2009;Barnea and Pravosudov, 2011). However, given the complexity of social signaling in most species, it is often difficult to identify specific features of social interaction that are effective for influencing neurogenesis. Moreover, the brain regions that show adult neurogenesis are usually embedded in complex networks and are only indirectly connected to the production of communication signals. Thus it is difficult to describe the precise role of new neurons in contributing to behavioral change.In electric fish, however, these problems are simplified. Electric fish are unusually good models for investigating the link between the social environment and neurogenesis because brain regions controlling communication signals have single functions and their activity is closely connected to the behavioral output of the whole animal. For example, neurons in the prepacemaker nucleus (PPn), a region that controls certain electrocommunication signals, are only two synapses removed from the final effector cells that generate the communication signal. Because the PPn has only one predominant output, the behavioral relevance of new neurons added to this nucleus during adulthood can be determined with relative ease. Another advantage of electric fish is that components of social interaction can be separated readily because their primary mode of social signaling, electrocommunication signals, is relatively simple and thus easily manipulated and presented experimentally. Thus, electric fish are quite useful for dissecting out the specific components of social interaction responsible for enhanced adult neurogenesis.Here, we begin by briefly describing an electrocommunication behavior termed chirping and its neural control. Then we review our work showing that long-term social interaction (1-2weeks) between electric fish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus) increases both the production of chirps and the addition of new cells to the brain, particularly near the region that regulates chirping. By manipulating the social stimuli presented to the fish, we demonstrate that dynamic and novel social stimuli are most effective in enhancing both the rate of chirp production and cell addition. We describe experiments showing that cortisol mediates, at least in part, the effect of long-term social interaction on chirping behavior and brain cell addition. Finally, we summarize our studies of a closely related electric fish (Brachyhypopomus gauderio) demonstrating that s...

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Social behavior, chemical communication, and adult neurogenesis: Studies of scent mark function in Podarcis wall lizards

Cited by 55 publications

References 52 publications

Plasticity and Adult Neurogenesis in Amphibians and Reptiles: More Questions than Answers

Plasticity and Adult Neurogenesis in Amphibians and Reptiles: More Questions than Answers

Ultraviolet vision in lacertid lizards: evidence from retinal structure, eye transmittance, SWS1 visual pigment genes, and behaviour

Influence of long-term social interaction on chirping behavior, steroid levels and neurogenesis in weakly electric fish

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