Neuroendocrine & Genetic Basis of Social Behavior
We are exploring the neuroendocrine and genetic mechanisms of social behavior in an exceptionally promising model organism, the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). This species has generated a great deal of interest among behavioral biologists because of a plumage polymorphism that predicts many aspects of an individual’s social behavior. Dozens of behavioral studies, conducted in both field and laboratory settings, have established that individuals with a white stripe (WS) on the crown tend to be more aggressive, and birds with a tan stripe (TS) exhibit more parental care. The color polymorphism segregates with a pericentric inversion on chromosome two; every animal with a copy of the inversion (2m) is WS, whereas those homozygous for the wild-type chromosome are TS. Together with collaborators in the department of Human Genetics, we are currently mapping the 2m inversion and have identified promising candidate genes inside it that may contribute toward the behavioral phenotype and thus to aggression, parenting, and pair-bonding. Because the neuroendocrine systems that govern these behaviors are similar in all vertebrates, this work will inform research in other model systems such as mice, fish, and humans.
This work is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
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