Neural Biases for Elaborate Male Traits

这项研究旨在探讨女性对男性特征偏好的神经机制。在所有主要的动物类群中，雄性通过所有的感觉方式来运作，它们进化出了吸引雌性交配的复杂信号。通常情况下，女性表现出强烈的偏好男性自己的物种，他们表现出偏好一些男性超过其他人。这两种类型的偏好通常都是由女性对男性发出的社会信号的反应所介导的。拟议的实验将调查的神经机制，调解女性的偏好，精心制作的男性特征使用tungara青蛙（酸浆）模型系统。这项研究将检验这样一个假设，即女性的偏好是由感觉系统中处理男性产生的信号的神经偏见介导的。tungara蛙模型系统允许测试这一假设，解决以下问题：（1）是女性的偏好，交配呼吁同种男性在异种男性介导的听觉系统的偏见？(2)雌性对某些类型的求偶叫声的偏好是否是由听觉系统的偏见介导的？(3)最后，听觉系统的这些偏好是否也是其他具有类似偏好的物种所共有的一般特征？tungara蛙模型系统的一个优点是它允许人们从进化的角度来研究神经生物学。因此，这项研究将大大提高对选择作用于生物体行为的神经基质的理解。此外，该项目预计将对理解复杂的生物声音如何由听觉系统表示做出重大贡献。更广泛的影响：除了推进科学知识，拟议的研究将在教育和科学培训在多个层次，包括本科生，研究生和博士后水平产生更广泛的影响。主要研究人员致力于通过在当地学校的客座讲座，将科学学习扩展到K-12年级的年轻学生。此外，拟议的研究通过支持妇女参与科学和吸收在巴拿马史密森热带研究所受训的拉丁美洲科学家，支持在科学领域代表性不足的群体。此外，拟议研究产生的出版物和讲座将有助于促进行为生态学和神经科学领域之间的交流，这反过来又将增加本科生物学课程的跨学科视角。

The proposed research investigates the neural mechanisms of female preferences for elaborate male traits. In all major taxa of animals and operating through all sensory modalities, males have evolved elaborate signals that function in attracting females to mate. Typically, females demonstrate a strong preference for males of their own species and they demonstrate preferences for some males over others. Both types of preferences are typically mediated by a female's response to social signals produced by males. The proposed experiments will investigate the neural mechanisms that mediate female preferences for elaborate male traits using the tungara frog (Physalaemus pustulosus) model system. The research will test the hypothesis that female preferences are mediated by a neural bias in the sensory system processing the signals produced by males. The tungara frog model system allows testing of this hypothesis by addressing the following questions: (1) Is the female preference for the mating calls of conspecific males over heterospecific males mediated by a bias in the auditory system? (2) Is the female preference for some types of mating calls over others mediated by a bias in the auditory system? (3) Finally, are these biases in the auditory system general features that are shared by other species that have similar preferences? A strength of the tungara frog model system is that it allows one to approach neurobiological studies with an evolutionary perspective. Thus, the research will greatly enhance the understanding of the neural substrate on which selection acts to shape the behavior of organisms. In addition, the project is expected to contribute substantially to the understanding of how complex biological sounds are represented by the auditory system. Broader Impacts: In addition to advancing scientific knowledge, the proposed research will have broader impacts in education and scientific training at multiple levels, including undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels. The principal investigators have a commitment to extending scientific learning to young students in the K-12 grades through guest lectures at local schools. In addition, the proposed research supports under-represented groups in science by supporting women in science and by the inclusion of Latin American scientists-in-training at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Furthermore, the publications and lectures resulting from the proposed research will serve to foster an exchange between the fields of behavioral ecology and neuroscience, which, in turn, will increase interdisciplinary perspectives in undergraduate biology courses.