FERNALD, Russell D.; Stanford University, Stanford, CA: Social regulation of the brain: New ways to discover the roles of status, sex and size

It is self evident that the brain controls behavior but can behavior also ‘control’ the brain? Recent evidence has revealed that social behavior can cause changes in certain brain structures of adult animals. Such alterations can be dramatic, reversible and are typically related to reproductive behavior. How does behavior sculpt the brain and how are these changes controlled? Our studies link molecular events with organismal behavior by using a model system in which social behaviors regulate reproduction. We have shown that a variety of neural and endocrine changes result from changes in social status. Surprisingly, we have also demonstrated that body growth rate is also regulated by social status and immediate social history. Discovering how social information is transduced into physiological processes via cellular and molecular changes presents a major challenge.