Dr. Tessa Solomon-Lane, Asst. Professor of Biology, Keck Science Dept., Claremont McKenna, Pitzer & Scripps Colleges

More info: https://tessasolomonlane.com/

This speaker will be presenting in person.

Growing up in a dynamic social world: early-life effects on behavior and neuroendocrine function 

 Abstract: Why, and how, do individuals behave the way they do? Social behavior has long captivated researchers from diverse fields. Social behavior is common to a remarkably wide range of species, its expression is complex and patterned, and it has deeply conserved effects on evolutionary fitness and health. Similarly, the neuroendocrine signaling pathways that regulate social behavior are also evolutionarily ancient. Early-life experiences are a powerful source of individual variation in adult behavior, yet fundamental questions remain about the development of social behavior and its underlying mechanisms. In my lab, we use the highly social Burton’s Mouthbrooder cichlid fish (Astatotilapia burtoni), a model system in social neuroscience, to investigate the social, behavioral, and neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating the development of social behavior. This species is known for the mixed-sex, hierarchical communities formed by adults, in which individuals express social behaviors common across vertebrates, such as aggression, affiliation, courtship, parenting, and cooperation. As is the case in primates, juveniles are social from the earliest life history stage. I will present the results of a series of experiments that demonstrate that juveniles form nuanced, complex social relationships, and how early-life social environments sculpt social behavior, nonapeptide signaling, and neuroendocrine stress axis function. I will discuss how this work expands our understanding of behavioral development and the origins of individual variation in adult phenotypes, from fish to humans

Zoom link: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/94813693836?pwd=ZWx5Tnl5UStac0RSZUZCSlFyMTl2UT09

Zoom Meeting ID: 928 2643 6236

Passcode: BEC