Data from: Social complexity during early development has long-term effects on neuroplasticity in the social decision-making network
Data files
Jul 03, 2025 version files 40.37 KB
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data_genexp_all_final.xlsx
38.26 KB
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P75_product_output_Npulcher.fasta
76 B
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README.md
1.96 KB
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trkb_product_output_Npulcher.fasta
69 B
Abstract
In social species, early social experience shapes the development of appropriate social behaviours during conspecific interactions referred to as social competence. However, the underlying neuronal mechanisms responsible for the acquisition of social competence are largely unknown. One key candidate to influence social competence is neuroplasticity, which functions to restructure neural networks in response to novel experiences or alterations of the environment. One important mediator of this restructuring is the neurotrophin BDNF, which is well conserved among vertebrates. We studied the highly social fish Neolamprologus pulcher, in which the impact of early social experience on social competence has been previously shown. We investigated experimentally how variation of the early social environment impacts markers of neuroplasticity by analysing the relative expression of the bdnf gene and its receptors p75NTR and TrkB across nodes of the Social Decision-Making Network. In fish raised in larger groups, bdnf and TrkB were upregulated in the anterior tuberal nucleus, compared to fish raised in smaller groups, while TrkB was downregulated and bdnf was upregulated in the lateral part of the dorsal telencephalon. In the preoptic area (POA), all three genes were upregulated in fish raised in large groups, suggesting that early social experiences might lead to changes of the neuronal connectivity in the POA. Our results highlight the importance of the early social experience in programming the constitutive expression of neuroplasticity markers, suggesting that the effects of early social experience on social competence might be due to changes in neuroplasticity.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kkwh70sd0
Description of the data and file structure
The data was collected from qPCR analysis of fish brain regions (ATN, DL, POA, TPP). We targeted 3 genes, bdnf, p75NTR and TrkB as well as 18S as a housekeeping gene. All missing data represented as NA.
Files and variables
File: data_genexp_all_final.xlsx
Variables
- Sample: sample ID
- brain_area: Brain area collected: anterior tuberal nucleus (ATN), lateral zone of the dorsal telencephalic area (DL), preoptic area (POA), posterior tuberculum (TPP)
- fish_ID: Individual fish ID
- age_at_sampling: Age the fish were at sampling (in years)
- treatment: Early life treatment: raised in small (S) or large (L) groups of fish
- Sex: Sex of the fish: male (M), female (F) or unknown (U)
- familyID: ID of the family where the fish were raised
- Target: Target gene (bdnf, p75 or TrkB)
- efficiency_target: primer efficiency of the gene target
- Avg_CT: average cycle threshold for gene target
- Efficiency_18S: primer efficiency of the control gene
- CT_18S: cycle threshold for control gene
- Etarget^ct_target: Efficiency of the target relative to cycle threshold of target (=1/(1+Efficiency of Target)^Average Ct)
- Econt^ctcont: Efficiency of the target relative to cycle threshold of Control (=1/(1+Efficiency of Control)^Average Ct of Control)
- rel_exp: relative expression of the gene target (Efficiency of target relative to Ct/Efficiency of control relative to Ct)
- bh_test: whether the individual took part in previous behavioural experiments.
File: P75_product_output_Npulcher.fasta
Fasta file of the product output of the p75 gene after sequencing.
File: trkb_product_output_Npulcher.fasta
Fasta file of the product output of the TrkB gene after sequencing.