Journal
BIOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 19, Issue 11, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0253
Keywords
brain transcriptomics; decision-making; trade-offs; aggression; courtship; threespined sticklebacks
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In this study, using threespined sticklebacks as a model system, researchers investigated the proximate mechanisms of decision-making in the face of competing demands. They found that males prioritized territorial defence over courtship when confronted with a trade-off, and this decision was reflected in their brain gene expression profiles. The study also revealed a distinct set of genes and biological processes recruited in the brain during decision-making, with minimal overlap between brain regions.
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.
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