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Social signals increase monoamine levels in the tegmentum of juvenile Mexican spadefoot toads (Spea multiplicata)

Journal of Comparative Physiology A volume 199, pages 681–691 (2013)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 19 June 2013

Abstract

Monoamines are important neuromodulators that respond to social cues and that can, in turn, modify social responses. Yet we know very little about the ontogeny of monoaminergic systems and whether they contribute to the development of social behavior. Anurans are an excellent model for studying the development of social behavior because one of its primary components, phonotaxis, is expressed early in life. To examine the effect of social signals on monoamines early in ontogeny, we presented juvenile Mexican spadefoot toads (Spea multiplicata) with a male mating call or no sound and measured norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and a serotonin metabolite, across the brain using high-pressure liquid chromatography. Our results demonstrate that adult-like monoaminergic systems are in place shortly after metamorphosis. Perhaps more interestingly, we found that mating calls increased the level of monoamines in the juvenile tegmentum, a midbrain region involved in sensory-motor integration and that contributes to brain arousal and attention. We saw no such increase in the auditory midbrain or in forebrain regions. We suggest that changes in monoamine levels in the juvenile tegmentum may reflect the effects of social signals on arousal state and could contribute to context-dependent modulation of social behavior.

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Abbreviations

5-HIAA:

5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid

5-HT:

5-Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin)

A-D di:

Anterior-dorsal diencephalon

DA:

Dopamine

DOPAC:

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid

E:

Epinephrine

HVA:

Homovanillic acid

ISO:

Isoproterenol

MHPG:

3-Methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol

NE:

Norepinephrine

P:

Pallium

P-D di:

Posterior-dorsal diencephalon

PoA:

Preoptic area

P-V di:

Posterior-ventral diencephalon

SC:

Suprachiasmatic nucleus

SubP:

Subpallium

Teg:

Tegmentum

TS:

Torus semicircularis

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Acknowledgments

We thank Keith W. Sockman for use of his HPLC system and S. B. Southerland for his expertise in measuring monoamines. This work was supported by a New Innovator Award from the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health (1 DP2 OD004436-01) to K. S. Pfennig. The University of North Carolina Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approved all animal procedures.

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  1. Verónica G. Rodriguez Moncalvo

    Present address: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3280, USA

    Verónica G. Rodriguez Moncalvo, Sabrina S. Burmeister & Karin S. Pfennig

  2. Curriculum in Neurobiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3280, USA

    Sabrina S. Burmeister

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  1. Verónica G. Rodriguez Moncalvo
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  2. Sabrina S. Burmeister
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  3. Karin S. Pfennig
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Correspondence to Sabrina S. Burmeister.

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Moncalvo, V.G.R., Burmeister, S.S. & Pfennig, K.S. Social signals increase monoamine levels in the tegmentum of juvenile Mexican spadefoot toads (Spea multiplicata). J Comp Physiol A 199, 681–691 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-013-0826-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-013-0826-6

Keywords

  • Monoamines
  • Neuromodulator
  • Anuran
  • Acoustic communication
  • HPLC