Neuroscience Seminar Wednesday, Sept. 16th

The Program in Neuroscience
N650 Neuroscience Fall 2009 Colloquium Series Indiana University-Bloomington

is pleased to present a talk by

James L. Goodson, Ph.D.
Department of Biology
Indiana University-Bloomington

“Birds of a Feather:
Evolution of Sociality and the Social Brain”

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
4:00 p.m.
Psychology Building, Room 101

Abstract:

Species-typical group size (sociality) is a profoundly important aspect of behavior, but little research has focused on relevant neural mechanisms. This likely reflects limited tractability, since wide ranges of species-typical group sizes are difficult to accommodate in experimental settings and sociality is difficult to isolate for comparative study. For instance, rodent species that differ in sociality also tend to differ in other aspects of behavior and ecology that can influence neural and endocrine mechanisms, and even the socially-diverse songbirds offer few opportunities for highly controlled comparisons. The family Estrildidae (finches, waxbills and
munias) is a remarkable exception. Estrildids are all monogamous, exhibit long-term pair bonds, and show biparental care. However, even within very specific ecological niches, estrildids display an extraordinary diversity in sociality, ranging from territorial male-female pairs to groups of dozens or hundreds of colonially breeding pairs. Fortuitously, this family also includes the most socially tractable laboratory songbird, the highly gregarious zebra finch. In a series of experiments, we have exploited the tractability of the estrildid family to demonstrate that vasopressin- and oxytocin-like neuropeptide systems, which are best known for their pair-bonding and maternal functions in mammals, exert a potent influence on avian sociality and are targeted by selection in reliable ways as species-typical group sizes evolve.