Amygdala and socio-sexual behavior in male zebra finches

Neuroanatomical studies including pathway tracing and cytochemical characterizations have suggested that the avian nucleus taeniae of the amygdala (TnA) might be homologous to a part of the mammalian medial amygdala. Recent behavioral observations in TnA-lesioned birds also reported deficits in the control of motivational aspects of behavior, advancing the concept of homology of the structure in the two classes of animals. To further examine the functional role of TnA, we used a highly social, monogamous song bird species, the zebra finch, for our experiments. Male birds received a focal lesion of TnA, and several aspects of socio-sexual behavior of these animals were compared with control bird behavior. We found that zebra finch males with TnA lesions were never chosen as sexual partners by a female in a triadic situation with another male because they showed less sexually motivated behavior. Because such sexually motivated behavior was shown in dyadic situations with a lesioned male and a female, however, and females in this situation also showed pair bonding behavior towards the lesioned males, TnA might be involved in other behaviors, not just sexual behavior towards females. Instead, it might play a role in the control of a variety of social encounters including male-female and male-male interactions. This research clearly indicates that TnA, by its involvement in the control of socio-sexual behavior, is functionally comparable with the mammalian medial amygdala.