Hormonal Control of an Avian Neuromuscular System

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

Steroid hormones have powerful effects on the brain and on behavior. Previous studies have examined hormone effects on relatively simple behaviors of animals in captivity. Animals in the wild, however, often perform complex physical behaviors and we know little about the effects of steroids on the brain and muscles that control such behaviors. This project is designed to investigate a wild bird with a remarkable acrobatic and exceedingly fast courtship display, the male golden-collared manakin. Previous studies from this laboratory have identified anatomical specializations of the male''s wing muscles, brain and spinal cord as sites of steroid action. It is important to now pursue additional behavioral, biochemical and neuroanatomical studies to determine the identity of the steroids that control behavior and the social conditions that coordinate the way steroids act in male and female birds. Studies of this unusual behavior stand to reveal novel mechanisms of steroid action on vertebrate neuromuscular systems. This information will provide a better understanding of how reproductive hormones influence the development and growth of neural circuits and muscles developmentally, but also to show how hormones can stimulate the natural plasticity of vertebrate neuromuscular systems. Undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students will all receive training under this grant, including students of Central American origin.