Interaction of Embryonic and Adult Experience

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Our understanding of the process by which individuality emerges is still rudimentary, but it is clear that the environment in which the individual develops, and its sociosexual interactions as an adult, are central to this process. This project addresses how the experiences passively acquired as an embryo interact with those of the adult, when the individual has a degree of behavioral regulation of its own environment. Behavioral and neural plasticity is at the root of these individual differences. Thus, the overall goal of the proposed research is to determine how embryonic experience and sexual experience later in life interact to affect adult male sexual behavior, and to reveal how this in turn effects the neural circuitry underlying behavior. Specifically, using the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) as a model system, experiments will investigate the mechanisms involved in mediating the interaction between embryonic and adult experience. Obvious candidate mechanisms have two properties: they are influenced by the embryonic environment and they are capable of affecting sexual behavior and learning during adulthood. The mesolimbic dopamine system satisfies both these criteria and it is hypothesized that varying extent of embryonic hormone exposure organizes this system and the resulting differences mediate how the two morphs respond to experience. These studies are long-term and will involve the participation of undergraduate and graduate students for their execution. Students will be expected to present their findings at national meetings and be co-authors on papers published in peer-reviewed journals.