We used zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model organism to examine how social dominance influences the activation of swimming and the Mauthner mediated startle escape behaviors. We show that the status-dependent shift in behavior patterns whereby dominants increase swimming and reduce sensitivity of startle escape while subordinates reduce their swimming and increase startle sensitivity is regulated by the synergistic interactions of dopaminergic, glycinergic, and GABAergic inputs to shift the balance of activation of the underlying motor circuits. Neurocomputational modeling of the empirical results shows that drd1b functions as the molecular regulator to facilitate the shift between excitatory and inhibitory pathways. The results illustrate how reconfiguration in network dynamics serves as an adaptive strategy to cope with changes in the social environment and are likely conserved and applicable to other social species.
Experimental motivation: Animals exhibit context-dependent behavioral decisions that are mediated by specific motor circuits. In social species these decisions are often influenced by social status. Although social status-dependent neural plasticity of motor circuits has been investigated in vertebrates, little is known of how cellular plasticity translates into differences in motor activity. Here, we used zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model organism to examine how social dominance influences the activation of swimming and the Mauthner mediated startle escape behaviors.
Model Type: Neuron or other electrically excitable cell
Region(s) or Organism(s):
Cell Type(s): Abstract Morris-Lecar neuron
Currents: I Calcium; I K; I K,Ca
Receptors: D1
Genes:
Transmitters: Dopamine; Gaba; Glycine
Model Concept(s):
Simulation Environment: XPPAUT
References: