Distribution of vasotocin- and vasoactive intestinal peptide-like immunoreactivity in the brain of blue tit (Cyanistes coeruleus).

Catherine M Montagnese,András Csillag,Tamás Székely,Gergely Zachar

doi:10.3389/fnana.2015.00090

Catherine M Montagnese, András Csillag + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3389/fnana.2015.00090

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Abstract

Blue tits (Cyanistes coeruleus) are songbirds, used as model animals in numerous studies covering a wide field of research. Nevertheless, the distribution of neuropeptides in the brain of this avian species remains largely unknown. Here we present some of the first results on distribution of Vasotocine (AVT) and Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the brain of males and females of this songbird species, using immunohistochemistry mapping. The bulk of AVT-like cells are found in the hypothalamic supraoptic, paraventricular and suprachiasmatic nuclei, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and along the lateral forebrain bundle. Most AVT-like fibers course toward the median eminence, some reaching the arcopallium, and lateral septum. Further terminal fields occur in the dorsal thalamus, ventral tegmental area and pretectal area. Most VIP-like cells are in the lateral septal organ and arcuate nucleus. VIP-like fibers are distributed extensively in the hypothalamus, preoptic area, lateral septum, diagonal band of Broca. They are also found in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, amygdaloid nucleus of taenia, robust nucleus of the arcopallium, caudo-ventral hyperpallium, nucleus accumbens and the brainstem. Taken together, these results suggest that both AVT and VIP immunoreactive structures show similar distribution to other avian species, emphasizing evolutionary conservatism in the history of vertebrates. The current study may enable future investigation into the localization of AVT and VIP, in relation to behavioral and ecological traits in the brain of tit species.

Highlights

Passerine birds are one of the major vertebrate groups of organisms for investigating ecology, behavior and evolution (Bennett and Owens, 2002; Grant and Grant, 2014)
Apart from our previous work, restricted to the AVT-like and Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-like immunoreactivity in some limbic nuclei of the social brain network in the blue tit and the penduline tit (Montagnese et al, 2014), we found only one study describing the distribution of NPY and Substance P in hippocampal areas comparing different species of wild passerine birds (Gould et al, 2001)
The aim of the present article is to extend our knowledge by the mapping of vasotocin and VIP systems in the brain of the blue tit, enabling further studies of behavior associated neuroanatomy and neuroendocrinology

Summary

Introduction

Passerine birds (songbirds) are one of the major vertebrate groups of organisms for investigating ecology, behavior and evolution (Bennett and Owens, 2002; Grant and Grant, 2014). Songbirds have diverse mating systems and parental care that attracted seminal studies (Lack, 1968; Bennett and Owens, 2002). Only one parent, usually the female may look after the young whereas the males are polygamous and mate with numerous females in a single breeding season, for instance in birds of paradise (Lack, 1968). Mating systems and parental care may vary within a single breeding population so that several patterns coexist simultaneously. In European dunnocks (Prunella modularis) males and females may pair monogamously, a single male may have several females (polygyny), a single female may have several males (polyandry) and multiple pair bonds by both the male and female (polygyandry, Davies, 1992)

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