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Lorenzi E, Lemaire BS, Versace E, Matsushima T, Vallortigara G. Resurgence of an Inborn Attraction for Animate Objects via Thyroid Hormone T 3. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:675994. [PMID: 33953662 PMCID: PMC8092046 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.675994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
For inexperienced brains, some stimuli are more attractive than others. Human neonates and newly hatched chicks preferentially orient towards face-like stimuli, biological motion, and objects changing speed. In chicks, this enhances exposure to social partners, and subsequent attachment trough filial imprinting. Early preferences are not steady. For instance, preference for stimuli changing speed fades away after 2 days in chicks. To understand the physiological mechanisms underlying these transient responses, we tested whether early preferences for objects changing speed can be promoted by thyroid hormone 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T3). This hormone determines the start of imprinting’s sensitive period. We found that the preference for objects changing speed can be re-established in female chicks treated with T3. Moreover, day-1 chicks treated with an inhibitor of endogenous T3 did not show any preference. These results suggest that the time windows of early predispositions and of sensitive period for imprinting are controlled by the same molecular mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Lorenzi
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | | | - Elisabetta Versace
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Toshiya Matsushima
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
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Rosa-Salva O, Mayer U, Versace E, Hébert M, Lemaire BS, Vallortigara G. Sensitive periods for social development: Interactions between predisposed and learned mechanisms. Cognition 2021; 213:104552. [PMID: 33402251 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
We analysed research that makes use of precocial species as animal models to describe the interaction of predisposed mechanisms and environmental factors in early learning, in particular for the development of social cognition. We also highlight the role of sensitive periods in this interaction, focusing on domestic chicks as one of the main animal models for this field. In the first section of the review, we focus on the emergence of early predispositions to attend to social partners. These attentional biases appear before any learning experience about social stimuli. However, non-specific experiences occurring during sensitive periods of the early post-natal life determine the emergence of these predisposed mechanisms for the detection of social partners. Social predispositions have an important role for the development learning-based social cognitive functions, showing the interdependence of predisposed and learned mechanisms in shaping social development. In the second part of the review we concentrate on the reciprocal interactions between filial imprinting and spontaneous (not learned) social predispositions. Reciprocal influences between these two sets of mechanisms ensure that, in the natural environment, filial imprinting will target appropriate social objects. Neural and physiological mechanisms regulating the sensitive periods for the emergence of social predispositions and for filial imprinting learning are also described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orsola Rosa-Salva
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Piazza Manifattura 1, 38068 Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Uwe Mayer
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Piazza Manifattura 1, 38068 Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Versace
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Piazza Manifattura 1, 38068 Rovereto, TN, Italy; Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, 327 Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Marie Hébert
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Piazza Manifattura 1, 38068 Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Bastien S Lemaire
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Piazza Manifattura 1, 38068 Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Giorgio Vallortigara
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Piazza Manifattura 1, 38068 Rovereto, TN, Italy.
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The dorsal arcopallium of chicks displays the expression of orthologs of mammalian fear related serotonin receptor subfamily genes. Sci Rep 2020; 10:21183. [PMID: 33273690 PMCID: PMC7712838 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-78247-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Fear is an adaptive emotion that elicits defensive behavioural responses against aversive threats in animals. In mammals, serotonin receptors (5-HTRs) have been shown to modulate fear-related neural circuits in the basolateral amygdala complex (BLA). To understand the phylogenetic continuity of the neural basis for fear, it is important to identify the neural circuit that processes fear in other animals. In birds, fear-related behaviours were suggested to be processed in the arcopallium/amygdala complex and modulated by the serotonin (5-HT) system. However, details about the distribution of 5-HTRs in the avian brain are very sparsely reported, and the 5-HTR that is potentially involved in fear-related behaviour has not been elucidated. In this study, we showed that orthologs of mammalian 5-HTR genes that are expressed in the BLA, namely 5-HTR1A, 5-HTR1B, 5-HTR2A, 5-HTR2C, 5-HTR3A, and 5-HTR4, are expressed in a part of the chick arcopallium/amygdala complex called the dorsal arcopallium. This suggests that serotonergic regulation in the dorsal arcopallium may play an important role in regulating fear-related behaviour in birds. Our findings can be used as a basis for comparing the processing of fear and its serotonergic modulation in the mammalian amygdala complex and avian arcopallium/amygdala complex.
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Fujita T, Aoki N, Fujita E, Matsushima T, Homma KJ, Yamaguchi S. The chick pallium displays divergent expression patterns of chick orthologues of mammalian neocortical deep layer-specific genes. Sci Rep 2019; 9:20400. [PMID: 31892722 PMCID: PMC6938507 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56960-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The avian pallium is organised into clusters of neurons and does not have layered structures such as those seen in the mammalian neocortex. The evolutionary relationship between sub-regions of avian pallium and layers of mammalian neocortex remains unclear. One hypothesis, based on the similarities in neural connections of the motor output neurons that project to sub-pallial targets, proposed the cell-type homology between brainstem projection neurons in neocortex layers 5 or 6 (L5/6) and those in the avian arcopallium. Recent studies have suggested that gene expression patterns are associated with neural connection patterns, which supports the cell-type homology hypothesis. However, a limited number of genes were used in these studies. Here, we showed that chick orthologues of mammalian L5/6-specific genes, nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 2 and connective tissue growth factor, were strongly expressed in the arcopallium. However, other chick orthologues of L5/6-specific genes were primarily expressed in regions other than the arcopallium. Our results do not fully support the cell-type homology hypothesis. This suggests that the cell types of brainstem projection neurons are not conserved between the avian arcopallium and the mammalian neocortex L5/6. Our findings may help understand the evolution of pallium between birds and mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiyuki Fujita
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Life and Health Sciences, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan
| | - Naoya Aoki
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Life and Health Sciences, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan
| | - Eiko Fujita
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Life and Health Sciences, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan
| | - Toshiya Matsushima
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Koichi J Homma
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Life and Health Sciences, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan
| | - Shinji Yamaguchi
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Life and Health Sciences, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan.
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Miura M, Nishi D, Matsushima T. Combined predisposed preferences for colour and biological motion make robust development of social attachment through imprinting. Anim Cogn 2019; 23:169-188. [PMID: 31712936 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01327-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 10/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
To study how predisposed preferences shape the formation of social attachment through imprinting, newly hatched domestic chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) were simultaneously exposed to two animations composed of comparable light points in different colours (red and yellow), one for a walking motion and another for a linear motion. When a walking animation in red was combined with a linear one in yellow, chicks formed a learned preference for the former that represented biological motion (BM). When the motion-colour association was swapped, chicks failed to form a preference for a walking in yellow, indicating a bias to a specific association of motion and colour. Accordingly, experiments using realistic walking chicken videos revealed a preference for a red video over a yellow one, when the whole body or the head was coloured. On the other hand, when the BM preference had been pre-induced using an artefact moving rigidly (non-BM), a clear preference for a yellow walking animation emerged after training by the swapped association. Even if the first-seen moving object was a nonbiological artefact such as the toy, the visual experience would induce a predisposed BM preference, making chicks selectively memorize the object with natural features. Imprinting causes a rapid inflow of thyroid hormone in the telencephalon leading to the induction of the BM preference, which would make the robust formation of social attachment selectively to the BM-associated object such as the mother hen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Momoko Miura
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, N10-W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Daisuke Nishi
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, N10-W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Toshiya Matsushima
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, N10-W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan.
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McCabe BJ. Visual Imprinting in Birds: Behavior, Models, and Neural Mechanisms. Front Physiol 2019; 10:658. [PMID: 31231236 PMCID: PMC6558373 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Filial imprinting is a process, readily observed in precocial birds, whereby a social attachment is established between a young animal and an object that is typically (although not necessarily) a parent. During a perinatal sensitive period, the young animal learns characteristics of the object (the imprinting stimulus) simply by being exposed to it and will subsequently recognize and selectively approach this stimulus. Imprinting can thus establish a filial bond with an individual adult: a form of social cohesion that may be crucial for survival. Behavioral predispositions can act together with the learning process of imprinting in the formation, maintenance, and modification of the filial bond. Memory of the imprinting stimulus, as well as being necessary for social recognition, is also used adaptively in perceptual classification of sensory signals. Abstract features of an imprinting stimulus, such as similarity or difference between stimulus components, can also be recognized. Studies of domestic chicks have elucidated the neural basis of much of the above behavior. This article discusses (1) principal behavioral characteristics of filial imprinting and related predispositions, (2) theoretical models that have been developed to account for this behavior, and (3) physiological results elucidating the underlying neural mechanisms. Interactions between these different levels of analysis have resulted in advancement of all of them. Taken together, the different approaches have helped define strategies for investigating mechanisms of learning, memory, and perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian J McCabe
- Sub-Department of Animal Behaviour, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Aoki N, Yamaguchi S, Fujita T, Mori C, Fujita E, Matsushima T, Homma KJ. GABA-A and GABA-B Receptors in Filial Imprinting Linked With Opening and Closing of the Sensitive Period in Domestic Chicks ( Gallus gallus domesticus). Front Physiol 2018; 9:1837. [PMID: 30618842 PMCID: PMC6305906 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Filial imprinting of domestic chicks has a well-defined sensitive (critical) period lasting in the laboratory from hatching to day 3. It is a typical model to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying memory formation in early learning. We recently found that thyroid hormone 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T3) is a determinant of the sensitive period. Rapid increases in cerebral T3 levels are induced by imprinting training, rendering chicks imprintable. Furthermore, the administration of exogenous T3 makes chicks imprintable on days 4 or 6 even after the sensitive period has ended. However, how T3 affects neural transmission to enable imprinting remains mostly unknown. In this study, we demonstrate opposing roles for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-A and GABA-B receptors in imprinting downstream of T3. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting showed that the GABA-A receptor expression increases gradually from days 1 to 5, whereas the GABA-B receptor expression gradually decreases. We examined whether neurons in the intermediate medial mesopallium (IMM), the brain region responsible for imprinting, express both types of GABA receptors. Immunostaining showed that morphologically identified putative projection neurons express both GABA-A and GABA-B receptors, suggesting that those GABA receptors interact with each other in these cells to modulate the IMM outputs. The roles of GABA-A and GABA-B receptors were investigated using various agonists and antagonists. Our results show that GABA-B receptor antagonists suppressed imprinting on day 1, while its agonists made day 4 chicks imprintable without administration of exogenous T3. By contrast, GABA-A receptor agonists suppressed imprinting on day 1, while its antagonists induced imprintability on day 4 without exogenous T3. Furthermore, both GABA-A receptor agonists and GABA-B receptor antagonists suppressed T3-induced imprintability on day 4 after the sensitive period has ended. Our data from these pharmacological experiments indicate that GABA-B receptors facilitate imprinting downstream of T3 by initiating the sensitive period, while the GABA-A receptor contributes to the termination of the sensitive period. In conclusion, we propose that opposing roles of GABA-A and GABA-B receptors in the brain during development determine the induction and termination of the sensitive period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoya Aoki
- Department of Life and Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shinji Yamaguchi
- Department of Life and Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshiyuki Fujita
- Department of Life and Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chihiro Mori
- Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.,Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Eiko Fujita
- Department of Life and Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshiya Matsushima
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Koichi J Homma
- Department of Life and Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
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