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Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground The relationship between genes and social behavior in-volves complex interactions between an individual and its environment [1,2]. Great strides have been taken to identify a number of genes that underlie naturally occur-ring behavioral plasticity [1-4]. However the vast major-ity of studies examining the genetic control of social behavior have focused on specific genes or whole brain analyses [1-4]. Indeed, social behavior requires the inter-action of a number of different brain regions within a neural circuit that leads to the production of a given be-havior. Seasonally breeding animals exhibit one of the most pronounced patterns of behavioral and brain plas-ticity known and importantly, these changes in brain and behavior are reversible. By studying the neural con-trol of seasonal social behavior one can gain insight into the fundamental mechanisms of gene, brain and behav