Affiliation:
1. School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, 505 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Abstract
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.
Funder
National Institutes of Health
National Science Foundation
Subject
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
Cited by
1 articles.
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