An analysis of gene expression in the socially monogamous brain

Socially monogamous behavior in the prairie vole Microtus ochrogaster is modulated by AVPR1A, a gene that encodes the receptor V1AR. V1AR binds vasopressin released into the brain during mating and helps to facilitate the generation of a pair bond. Notably, V1AR abundance in the nucleus accumbens, ventral pallidum, and retrosplenial area each predict aspects of socially monogamous behavior in the male vole. In my dissertation work, I use fluorescence in-situ hybridization to mark avpr1a expression throughout the vole brain. I imaged sections with fluorescently labelled avpr1a transcript brain-wide and digitally compiled a three-dimensional map of expression patterns of avpr1a transcript in the vole brain, registering them against the Allen Mouse Brain Atlas to uncover a complete list of structures and substructures expressing avpr1a. I categorized this list by both avpr1a-cell density and total avpr1a-cell abundance within a given brain structure. From this digital map, I generated whole-brain models of avpr1a expression patterns in three-dimensional space, visualizing putative social monogamy neural circuitry. I also worked on a project generating transgenic mice to express lacZ under the control of PPEn, a putative pallidal enhancer capable of driving avpr1a expression in the Microtus ochrogaster brain. Here I helped to uncover a list of brain structures where PPEn drives gene expression at different levels. We found that PPEn also suppresses gene expression in the liver, indicative of the important role AVPR1A plays in non-attachment related mammalian bodily functions. Last, I focused on the role of memory in the retrosplenial area in socially monogamous behavior. I used compartmental analysis of transcription Fluorescence In-Situ Hybridization (catFISH) to capture a partner memory engram – a group of cells in the retrosplenial cortex that seem to be involved in the recall of the memory of a mate. I found that mate recall activates a putative engram in the retrosplenial cortex. I discuss how these three analyses of gene expression further our knowledge of the cellular and molecular neurobiology of socially monogamous behavior.Cellular and Molecular Biolog