BRAIN & MATE CHOICE

The neural basis of mate choice: Which brain structures are involved in mate assessment in mice?

Coordinatore	FUNDACAO CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN    more  Organization address address: AVENIDA DE BERNA 45A city: LISBOA postcode: 1000 contact info Titolo: Dr. Nome: Jose Mario Cognome: Leite Email: send email Telefono: -214407586 Fax: -214407619
Nazionalità Coordinatore	Portugal [PT]
Totale costo	0 €
EC contributo	93˙114 €
Programma	FP7-PEOPLE Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
Code Call	FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008
Funding Scheme	MC-IEF
Anno di inizio	2009
Periodo (anno-mese-giorno)	2009-07-01   -   2011-06-30

 Partecipanti

#	participant	country	role	EC contrib. [€]
1	FUNDACAO CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN  Organization address address: AVENIDA DE BERNA 45A city: LISBOA postcode: 1000 contact info Titolo: Dr. Nome: Jose Mario Cognome: Leite Email: send email Telefono: -214407586 Fax: -214407619	PT (LISBOA)	coordinator	93˙114.43

Mappa

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Mate choice is a critical driving force in evolution yet the mechanisms underlying it remain poorly understood. Ultimately, mate selection requires the perception of specific cues that indicate the characteristics of prospective mates and a decision based on those cues. While a variety of studies have investigated the nature of sensory signals emitted by animals, very little is known about the downstream processes that underlie mate assessment. I hypothesize that mate relevant sensory cues are translated by the brain into a common set of variables that reflects the value of the mate emitting them and upon which a decision to mate or not is based. To pursue this hypothesis, my goal is to identify brain structures specifically involved in mate assessment. As potential candidates, I believe that Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone neurons in the hypothalamus can play a critical role in this behaviour, since these neurons control sexual behaviour and also receive information about both the internal state of the animal and the external environment. To pursue this project, my first aim is to establish a behavioural paradigm in which mate choice is stable and reproducible, using mice as model system. To do this, the value of two prospective mates will be controlled by manipulating differentially their genotype at Major Histocompatibility Complex or Major Urinary Proteins loci, which are known to influence mate preference in mice. The second aim is to identify brain regions involved in mate preference and selection. To do so, I will analyze the activation of Immediate Early Genes (IEG) that are reliable markers of neuronal activity, in the female brain during the mate choice assay. Fos immunoreactivity will first allow me to do an unbiased screen of the entire mouse brain. Second, by using cat-FISH (Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization) and exploring the temporal dynamics of two different IEG, Homer 1a and Arc, I will study the representation of mates with different values.'