The Behavioral Mechanisms of Hierarchy Formation and the Neurochemical Correlates of Aggression and Dominance in Crayfish

动物行为程序非技术摘要Proposal#：9874608PI：Huber，RobertTitle：小龙虾等级社会结构中等级形成的行为机制以及攻击和优势的神经化学关联在从海葵到人类的各种物种中都是一种普遍现象，但产生它们的行为过程仍然知之甚少。这项对优势关系的全面研究将使用小龙虾来探索动物如何在攻击性互动的背景下改变它们的行为。这项工作将首先描述在配对的遭遇中，先前的战斗成功如何改变有机体随后的行为。由于在更大的动物群体中，这类配对之间的关系如何发展成一个复杂的社会网络并不直观，因此计算机模拟“虚拟”小龙虾将探索更复杂的社会结构。从这些模型得出的预测随后将用真正的小龙虾进行测试。这个项目的结果应该会为不同层次的组织之间存在的复杂关联提供相当大的洞察力，包括感觉过程、攻击倾向、优势地位和大脑化学。鉴于攻击性的理论意义、进化重要性和广泛的分类传播，阐明这些“低级”动物优势的形成和维持机制将有助于更好地理解支配社会行为的规律。这项研究的结果也可能对开发控制情感状态的药物，以及研究过去经验在攻击行为中的作用的心理学家有意义。

Animal Behavior ProgramNontechnical AbstractProposal #: 9874608PI: Huber, RobertTitle: The behavioral mechanisms of hierarchy formation and the neurochemical correlates of aggression and dominance in crayfishHierarchical social structures are a widespread phenomenon in species ranging from anemones to humans and yet the behavioral processes that produce them remain poorly understood. This comprehensive study of dominance relationships will use crayfish to explore how animals modify their behavior in the context of aggressive interactions. This work will first characterize how previous fighting success modifies an organism's subsequent behavior in paired encounters. Since it is not intuitively obvious how relationships between such pairs develop into a complex social web in larger groups of animals, computer simulations of 'virtual' crayfish will explore more complex social structures. Predictions arising from these models will then be tested using real crayfish. Results from this project should provide considerable insight into the complex associations that exist between different levels of organization, including sensory processes, dispositions for aggression, dominance status, and brain chemistry. Given the theoretical significance, evolutionary importance, and broad taxonomic spread of aggression, elucidating the mechanisms of formation and maintenance of dominance inthese 'lower' animals will lead to a better understanding of the laws which govern social behavior. Results from this research may also have implications for the development of pharmaceuticals for the control of affective states, and for psychologists investigating the role of past experience in aggressive behavior.