[Abstract Title]. - Society for Neuroscience

Poster
297. Social Recognition and Partner Preference
Time: Sunday, November 16, 2008, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Program#/Poster#: 297.9/TT27
Topic: F.03.c. Social behavior
Support: NIH Grant RO1-MH55488
NIH Grant K02-MH65907
Title: The effect of pairing on behavioral responses in female zebra finches
Authors: *L. A. SVEC, K. M. LICHT, J. WADE;
Prog in Neurosci, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI
Abstract: Zebra finches form strong pair bonds prior to breeding. These pair bonds are signified
by affiliative behaviors such as clumping (perching in close contact) and preening. In order to
determine the role of pairing in female behavioral responses to interactions with male zebra
finches, females were either paired with a male or individually housed for 14 days. The male was
then removed from the shared cages and housed within visual and acoustic contact for two days.
Next, a one-hour social interaction test was conducted in which either a familiar male (n= 7) or a
new male (n= 9) was introduced to the paired females, and a new male was introduced to the
females that had not been paired (n= 10). A variety of social, including affiliative and
reproductive, behaviors of both the male and female were quantified. Significant effects (with
Kruskal-Wallis tests) were observed in five female behaviors directed toward males, including
beak wipes, clumping (both frequency and duration), and preening (frequency and duration). In
all cases, these behaviors were increased in response to a familiar male compared to a new male
in the paired females (all Mann-Whitney U, p< 0.017). In addition, among females interacting
with new males, clumping (duration, and to a lesser extent frequency) was increased in unpaired
individuals compared those who had been housed with males (Mann-Whitney U, p= 0.04, p=
0.053, respectively). Finally, males attempted a greater number of mounts when introduced to
females that had been individually housed compared to those previously paired (Kruskal-Wallis,
p= 0.032, both Mann-Whitney U, p< 0.068). Collectively, the results indicate that housing a
female with a male decreases her affiliative behaviors toward novel males, but this diminished
response to new males is not observed in females that have recently lived alone. The data also
suggest that males likely receive some signal from females indicating whether or not they have
been paired with a male. The neural correlates of the behavioral effects will be investigated in
the females by examining the expression of the immediate early gene ZENK following these