Abstract Summary/Description
The preoptic area (POA) of the hypothalamus is integral to regulating social behavior and emotional responses, acting as a central node within the brain’s social and emotional networks. Dopamine (DA) is key to social behaviors, though poorly studied in Amatitlania nigrofasciata, a monogamous species with strong biparental care, which offers an ideal model for investigating the neurobiology of social bonding. This study examines Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH), a marker for DA neurons, and Dopamine Receptor 2 (D2R) across three fish species with differing social behaviors: A. nigrofasciata (monogamous with biparental care), Mchenga conophorus, and Danio rerio (both non-pair bonding with no biparental care). We hypothesized that increased TH-positive neurons in the POA during embryonic development are associated with monogamy, suggesting that TH expression in the POA contributes to the evolution of pair bonding through neurodevelopmental plasticity. Using single in situ hybridization, we examined TH expression, later
