14C]2-Deoxyglucose uptake in the brain of the ring dove ( Streptopelia risoria). II. Differential uptake at the onset of incubation

Abstract

Brain areas involved in the expression of incubation behaviour were identified in male ring dove at the onset of incubation using quantitative [ 14C]2-deoxyglucose (2DG) autoradiography. The uptake of 2DG in twenty-eight areas found in the hypothalamus and thalamus, and six areas in the forebrain were compared in control non-breeding and incubating birds. Although 2DG utilisation varied significantly between brain areas, significant differences between non-breeding males and incubating males were observed only in 4 of them. These were the nucleus tuberis, nucleus preopticus medialis, nucleus ovoidalis and paleostriatum primitivum. The uptake of 2DG was increased at the onset of incubation in the nucleus tuberis, nucleus preopticus medialis and nucleus ovoidalis and decreased in the paleostriatum primitivum. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that these brain areas play a role in the initiation of incubation behaviour.