Multidisciplinary Collaborative Research Project: Amines and Agonistic Behavior in Crustaceans

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This proposal has the overall goal of understanding the roles served by neurohormones in a complex behavior, like aggression. It involves investigators from 3 universities: E. A. Kravitz (Harvard Medical School), D. H. Edwards (Georgia State University), and B. S. Beltz (Wellesley College) who use crustacean model systems (lobsters, crayfish) for their interactive studies. Crustacean models allow the analysis of behavior to be brought to the level of the individual nerve cells involved, an advantage not readily available in higher forms. The studies focus on serotonin, an amine derived from the common amino acid tryptophan, which has been implicated in aggression in all animal species. They explore the effects on fighting behavior of raising and lowering serotonin levels, ask whether neurons utilizing this amine function differently in dominant and subordinate animals, and address the question of whether these neurons change their properties over individual molt cycles (the annual shedding of the cuticle) along with behavioral changes that are seen. Aggression is a universal feature of the behavior of social animals, necessary for access to shelter, food and mates. Among humans, the consequences of its abuse are well known (witness Kosovo). Despite the importance of this behavior, however, little is known of its neural mechanisms. Models, like the crustacean systems used here, offer the possibility of highly detailed analyses of this complex behavior, thereby yielding valuable insights into its underlying neural roots.