BRAIN & MATE CHOICE · The neural basis of mate choice: Which brain structures are involved in mate assessment in mice?
FP7 — People (Marie Curie Actions)
- Duration
- 2009-07-01 → 2011-06-30
- EU contribution
- €93,114
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MC-IEF
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Results in brief
The neural basis of mate choice: Which brain structures are involved in mate assessment in mice?
Mate choice is a key driving force of evolution but the proximate mechanisms allowing mate assessment by the nervous system are still unknown. In order to understand how mate value and preferences are represented in the brain, the first aim of this project was to establish a behavioural paradigm in which mate choice is stable and reproducible, using mice as model system. We have achieved this goal by using a combination of inbred strains of mice and by taking advantage of a natural situation occurring in Europe where two subspecies of mouse, Mus musculus musculus and Mus musculus domesticus, form a narrow hybrid zone, and show asymmetric mate preferences. By translating this situation in the laboratory, we have obtained an extensive series of results demonstrating that: 1) musculus females show a strong preference for musculus over domesticus males, as they do in the wild; 2) this preference is stable over time and increases with repeated testing; 3) it reflects a broad homosubspecific mate preference, as similar results can be obtained using various domesticus and musculus strains of mice; 4) mate preference is relative and not absolute as it depends on the males available; 5) and it is influenced by female's early experience as shown by adoption experiments of musculus females in a domesticus environment at birth. This work therefore resulted in the establishment of a reliable and biologically relevant behavioural paradigm that allows us to investigate the neuronal basis of mate preference. As we are able to manipulate male subjective value by manipulating either female's experience or the context of the choice, we can now study mate value representation in the female's brain and identify brain regions encoding mate value information. This will hopefully provide in the near future a better understanding of the neural mechanism underlying mate choice, an essential decision making process in animal's life, and will ultimately provide further insight into our understanding of brain function.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Mate choice is a critical driving force in evolution yet the mechanisms underlying it remain poorly understood. Ultimately, mate selection requires the perception of specific cues that indicate the characteristics of prospective mates and a decision based on those cues. While a variety of studies have investigated the nature of sensory signals emitted by animals, very little is known about the downstream processes that underlie mate assessment. I hypothesize that mate relevant sensory cues are translated by the brain into a common set of variables that reflects the value of the mate emitting them and upon which a decision to mate or not is based. To pursue this hypothesis, my goal is to identify brain structures specifically involved in mate assessment. As potential candidates, I believe that Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone neurons in the hypothalamus can play a critical role in this behaviour, since these neurons control sexual behaviour and also receive information about both the internal state of the animal and the external environment. To pursue this project, my first aim is to establish a behavioural paradigm in which mate choice is stable and reproducible, using mice as model system. To do this, the value of two prospective mates will be controlled by manipulating differentially their genotype at Major Histocompatibility Complex or Major Urinary Proteins loci, which are known to influence mate preference in mice. The second aim is to identify brain regions involved in mate preference and selection. To do so, I will analyze the activation of Immediate Early Genes (IEG) that are reliable markers of neuronal activity, in the female brain during the mate choice assay. Fos immunoreactivity will first allow me to do an unbiased screen of the entire mouse brain. Second, by using cat-FISH (Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization) and exploring the temporal dynamics of two different IEG, Homer 1a and Arc, I will study the representation of mates with different values.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- FUNDACAO CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN · LisboaCoordinatorPortugal
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union