Meeting Abstract
Social species, including gregarious birds, often use aggressive interactions to secure resources and establish dominance hierarchies within their social groups. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter that may play a role in regulating aggression, but we know surprisingly little about its effect on aggressive behaviors. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that D2 dopamine agonists and antagonists influence aggressive behavior in house sparrows (Passer domesticus), a social species that lives in groups throughout the year. We monitored the behaviors of pairs of captive male house sparrows before and after they were injected with D2 agonists, D2 antagonists, or controls. Preliminary analyses suggest that D2 dopamine agonists increase aggressive behavior while D2 dopamine antagonists suppresses aggressive behavior. The effects of the D2 dopamine agonists were most pronounced in birds with higher social status. The results of this study suggest that aggressive behaviors are regulated by dopaminergic pathways.
