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  • A distinct neurogenomic response to a trade-off between social challenge and opportunity in male sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus aculeatus )
Title: A distinct neurogenomic response to a trade-off between social challenge and opportunity in male sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus aculeatus )
Animals frequently make adaptive decisions about what to prioritize when faced with multiple, competing demands simultaneously. However, the proximate mechanisms of decision-making in the face of competing demands are not well understood. We explored this question using brain transcriptomics in a classic model system: threespined sticklebacks, where males face conflict between courtship and territorial defence. We characterized the behaviour and brain gene expression profiles of males confronted by a trade-off between courtship and territorial defence by comparing them to males not confronted by this trade-off. When faced with the trade-off, males behaviourally prioritized defence over courtship, and this decision was reflected in their brain gene expression profiles. A distinct set of genes and biological processes was recruited in the brain when males faced a trade-off and these responses were largely non-overlapping across two brain regions. Combined, these results raise new questions about the interplay between the neural and molecular mechanisms involved in decision-making.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2109619
PAR ID:
10483213
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Biology Letters
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Biology Letters
Volume:
19
Issue:
11
ISSN:
1744-957X
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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