The present study examined social status and adult neurogenesis in the naked mole rat. These animals live in large colonies with a strict reproductive dominance hierarchy; one female and 1-3 males breed, while other members are subordinate and reproductively suppressed. We examined whether social status affects doublecortin (DCX; a marker for immature neurons) immunoreactivity in the dentate gyrus, piriform cortex (PCx), and basolateral amygdala (BLA) by comparing breeders to subordinates. We also examined subordinates removed from their colony and paired with opposite- or same-sex conspecifics for 6 months. Breeders had reduced DCX immunoreactivity in all areas, with BLA effects confined to females. Effects of housing condition were region-specific, with higher PCx DCX immunoreactivity observed in opposite- than same-sex paired subordinates regardless of gonadal status. The opposite pattern was observed in the BLA. Future work will clarify whether findings are attributable to status differences in stress, behavioural plasticity, or life stage.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/43291 |
| Date | 09 December 2013 |
| Creators | Peragine, Diana |
| Contributors | Holmes, Melissa M. |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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