37 research outputs found
Neural mechanisms of social learning in the female mouse
Social interactions are often powerful drivers of learning. In female mice, mating creates a long-lasting sensory memory for the pheromones of the stud male that alters neuroendocrine responses to his chemosignals for many weeks. The cellular and synaptic correlates of pheromonal learning, however, remain unclear. We examined local circuit changes in the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) using targeted ex vivo recordings of mating-activated neurons tagged with a fluorescent reporter. Imprinting led to striking plasticity in the intrinsic membrane excitability of projection neurons (mitral cells, MCs) that dramatically curtailed their responsiveness, suggesting a novel cellular substrate for pheromonal learning. Plasticity was selectively expressed in the MC ensembles activated by the stud male, consistent with formation of memories for specific individuals. Finally, MC excitability gained atypical activity-dependence whose slow dynamics strongly attenuated firing on timescales of several minutes. This unusual form of AOB plasticity may act to filter sustained or repetitive sensory signals.R21 DC013894 - NIDCD NIH HH
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Individual Recognition in Japanese Quail Requires Physical and Behavioral Cues
Individual recognition is a complex social learning process in which idiosyncratic characteristics of a conspecific are learned and later used to discriminate this conspecific from others. Many social species of birds appear to be capable of individual recognition. However, it is possible that at least under some circumstances these and other species discriminate conspecifics not based on individual recognition but instead, by recognizing them as members of one or more social categories. Many references to individual recognition in the literature have neglected to address this distinction. For example, Riters and Balthazart (1998) reported that male quail were capable of recognizing individual females with which they had and had not copulated, but their experimental design may have unintentionally created two social categories of females (sexually receptive and non-receptive). The present set of experiments replicated Riters’ and Balthazart’s findings (Experiment 1) and then tested male quail for their ability to recognize females based on physical cues only (Experiment 2), physical and behavioral cues (Experiment 3), and the social categorization cues associated with female receptivity (Experiment 4). The results suggested that male quail are capable of recognizing individual females with which they have and have not copulated, but this recognition is not based onphysical, non-sexual, or sexual receptivity behaviors in isolation. Instead, individual recognition occurred only when the males were able to utilize all of these potentially distinctive female attributes in combination. The results also suggested that female receptivity responses may be unique and idiosyncratic, varying along one or more dimensions
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Individual Recognition in Japanese Quail Requires Physical and Behavioral Cues
Individual recognition is a complex social learning process in which idiosyncratic characteristics of a conspecific are learned and later used to discriminate this conspecific from others. Many social species of birds appear to be capable of individual recognition. However, it is possible that at least under some circumstances these and other species discriminate conspecifics not based on individual recognition but instead, by recognizing them as members of one or more social categories. Many references to individual recognition in the literature have neglected to address this distinction. For example, Riters and Balthazart (1998) reported that male quail were capable of recognizing individual females with which they had and had not copulated, but their experimental design may have unintentionally created two social categories of females (sexually receptive and non-receptive). The present set of experiments replicated Riters’ and Balthazart’s findings (Experiment 1) and then tested male quail for their ability to recognize females based on physical cues only (Experiment 2), physical and behavioral cues (Experiment 3), and the social categorization cues associated with female receptivity (Experiment 4). The results suggested that male quail are capable of recognizing individual females with which they have and have not copulated, but this recognition is not based onphysical, non-sexual, or sexual receptivity behaviors in isolation. Instead, individual recognition occurred only when the males were able to utilize all of these potentially distinctive female attributes in combination. The results also suggested that female receptivity responses may be unique and idiosyncratic, varying along one or more dimensions
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Fear in the Captive-Bred Attwater’s Prairie Chicken as an Indicator of Postrelease Survival
Releasing captive-bred Attwater’s prairie chickens (APC) into an endangered wild population has successfully maintained but has not increased a small extant population. The limited success of the captive-release APC program has been largely attributed to heavy predation on the newly released birds. The poor survival rate of released birds suggests that breeding and rearing in captivity may have a detrimental effect on the expression of predator avoidance behaviors. In Experiment 1, 1- 2 week-old chicks were assessed for fear responses. Tendency to hide, as measured by the hole-in-thewall test, correlated with postrelease survival. In Experiment 2, fear responses, including those identified as important to survival in Experiment 1, were stronger in chicks reared in a seminatural environment relative to chicks reared in an artificial environment. Implications for conservation of this endangered species are discussed