James Goodson

Indiana University, USA

Abstract

[O01] Sociality and subordinance: Behavioral regulation by functionally opposed vasotocin/vasopressin cell groups in songbirds and rodents

The homologous neuropeptides arginine vasotocin (VT) and arginine vasopressin (VP; found in mammals and non-mammals, respectively) influence a wide range of social and stress-related behaviors, and although these peptides are produced by numerous cell groups, VT/VP circuits are often approached as a functionally unitary system, perhaps due to their paracrine actions. However, our findings in both songbirds and mice show that 1) different VT/VP cell groups exhibit Fos responses to social stimuli that can be virtually opposite; that is, reflecting a sensitivity to positive and negative aspects of social interactions, and 2) pharmacological blockade of V1a-like receptors exerts behavioral effects that are context-dependent and accurately predicted based upon the context-dependent pattern of Fos expression in different cell groups. For instance, endogenous VT facilitates aggression in territorial songbirds during mate competition, a context in which affiliation-responsive neurons of the extended amygdala are activated, but inhibits aggression in resident-intruder tests (at least in less aggressive males), consistent with the observation that Fos activation of hypothalamic VT neurons is negatively correlated with territorial aggression. The relationship between endogenous VT and sociality is likewise context-dependent. Such findings suggest that distinct VT/VP cell groups produce unique patterns of neuromodulation in the brain, and thereby unique behavioral effects. The simultaneous processing of both positive and negative stimulus dimensions (i.e., by distinct cell groups) poses serious challenges for clinical pharmacology, and suggests that interventions must be designed that target specific VP cell groups, rather than non-specifically targeting VP receptors.

Keywords: sociality, aggression, vastocin, vasopressin

Biography

James L. Goodson obtained his Ph.D. in Biological Psychology from Cornell University in 1998, and he remained at Cornell until 2000 as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in Neurobiology and Behavior.  During that time, Goodson began to examine the functions and anatomy of nonapeptide and social behavior circuits in birds and fish. He continues to focus on these topics and has established a strongly comparative research program that utilizes numerous species of finches to explore neural mechanisms of sociality and social evolution. James Goodson is now an Associate Professor of Biology at Indiana University.