Noradrenergic alpha-2A receptor activation suppresses courtship vocalization in male Japanese quail

• Published in: Behavioural brain research 2021-09, Vol.414, p.113513-113513, Article 113513
• Main Authors: Tobari, Yasuko, Masuzawa, Ami, Harada, Norika, Suzuki, Kenta, Meddle, Simone L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists - administration & dosage; Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists - pharmacology; Animals; Bird; Clonidine - pharmacology; Coturnix; Courtship; Courtship vocalization; Food intake; Immediate early gene; Male; Mesencephalon - drug effects; Mesencephalon - metabolism; Norepinephrine; Norepinephrine - physiology; Nucleus intercollicularis; Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2 - physiology; Sexual Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Sexual Behavior, Animal - physiology; Vocalization, Animal - drug effects; Vocalization, Animal - physiology; α2-adrenergic receptor
• ISSN: 0166-4328; 1872-7549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113513

•Centrally administered clonidine immediately suppresses male crowing in quail.　•Clonidine decreases the frequency of crowing in a dose dependent manner.•Clonidine diminishes zenk mRNA expression in the midbrain vocal center.•The midbrain vocal center receives noradrenergic innervation.•The midbrain vocal center express α2A-adrenergic receptor mRNA. Male Japanese quail produce high-frequency crow vocalizations to attract females during the breeding season. The nucleus of intercollicularis (ICo) is the midbrain vocal center in birds and electrical stimulation of the ICo produces calls that include crowing. Noradrenaline plays a significant role in sexual behavior but the contribution of noradrenaline in the control of courtship vocalizations in quail has not been well established. Using dose-dependent intracerebroventricular injection of clonidine, an α2-adrenergic receptor-specific agonist, crowing vocalization was immediately suppressed. At the same time as crow suppression by clonidine there was a reduction of immediate early gene, zenk mRNA, in the ICo; no zenk mRNA expression was detected in the dorsomedial division of the nucleus. Using histochemistry, we determined that the ICo receives noradrenergic innervation and expresses α2A-adrenergic receptor mRNA. Taken together, these data suggest that noradrenaline regulates courtship vocalization in quail, possibly via the α2A-adrenergic receptor expressed on ICo neurons.