Poster Assignment Recap Step 1: choose a topic Step 2: choose a paper: –must have a hormone measure/manipulation –must have a behaviour measure/manipulation Step 3: read the paper very carefully! You should understand everything about this paper, and be able to explain simply Step 4: make your poster Step 5: practice your talk (5 minutes max!)

Poster Judging Each of you will judge 3 posters during the times when they are not presenting You will get the names of the three posters at the conference You will fill in a form to rank the posters you visit You will also write up and turn in a summary of each poster (one page per poster) that includes at least three questions you asked at the poster and the replies that you got Due date is the last class (Dec 6)

ADX facilitates pairbonding

CORT prevents pairbonding

In males, pair-bonding can’t occur if adrenals removed

In males, stress increases pair-bonding only if adrenals intact

In males, CORT increases pair-bonding

Vasopressin (VP1) receptor Meadow volePrairie Vole Ventral pallidum – important for reinforcement, reward, addiction

Transfection study Insert excess V1a gene into the ventral pallidum of prairie voles VP staining: reporter gene (LacZ) only V1a Additional control was extra V1a in striatum (CP)

Transfection Study VP V1a over-expression: Increase in social behaviour overall Pair-bonding even without mating Agrees with antagonist studies

Neurology of Aggression

VMN AH dorsal PAG Defensive Aggression LH - - Predation + - The two systems are mutually exclusive

Predatory Aggression (Feeding) Hypothalamus lateral hypothalamus (LH) stimulation elicits predatory attack Medial amygdala stimulation inhibits predation via LH Periaqueductal gray (PAG) stimulation also inhibits predation

Defensive Aggression Stimulation of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN) produces components of defensive aggression Lesions of anterior hypothalamus (AH) prevents VMN effects PAG stimulation also elicits defensive aggression Medial or basal amygdala stimulation facilitates attacks via VMH Central amygdala stimulation inhibits attacks via PAG

Social Aggression These forms of aggression can be distinguised from social aggression Mostly done in mice and rats Different neural substrates: olfactory bulbs (chemosensory cues) basolateral amygdala medial amygdala (but only if fighting experience) septum medial hypothalamus raphe nuclei (primary 5HT site)

Androgens in Hyena Dominance Adult females have high levels as well, but still less than or similar to male Androgen levels are strongly correlated with status within sexes

Challenge Effects Just like birds and mice Seems to require some sort of effort or “ego investment” Tennis vs Fan vs Lottery