Three main research lines are planned for the near future.

Anatomy of the behavioural brain in amphibians

In mammals, it is thought that brain regions organized as paired longitudinal columns in the preoptic area, hypothalamus and ventral brainstem exert control over the motor aspects of motivated behaviour, with distinct regions dedicated to ingestive/reproductive/defensive and exploratory/foraging behaviours. These regions receive diverse inputs, notably from many parts of the telencephalon. However, the complexity of connections is such that a synthesis is difficult. Amphibians possess simpler brains, but little is known about the functional organization of the behavioural brain in these animals. Comparison of amphibian brains with the better known but highly complex mammalian brain could help elucidate the basic pathways and mechanisms organizing behaviour. Work in the Comparative Neurobiology Lab will attempt to establish the anatomical and functional subdivisions of the brain regions involved in behavioural control in selected amphibian species.

Neurobiology of learning in amphibians

Recent studies have implicated the telencephalon in behavioural flexibility in amphibians. Important similarities have also been noted between the organization of the amphibian telencephalon and the mammalian limbic pathways involved in the regulation of motivated behaviour. We will study the brain substrate of behavioural flexibility in amphibians. For that purpose, protocols of appetitive and aversive conditioning in amphibians will be established. Once successful, these conditioning studies will be adapted for methods of functional neuroanatomy, which measure brain activity indirectly.

Olfactory neurobiology in plethodontid salamanders

Olfaction plays a major role in the behaviour of amphibians. Most amphibians possess both a vomeronasal (accessory olfactory) and a main olfactory system. The vomeronasal pathway in salamander displays uniquely direct connections to the behavioural brain and mediates the detection of a variety of biologically relevant chemical cues. Thus, it appears a good model pathway to study how the nervous system processes sensory information from molecules to behaviour. We will study behaviour and brain responses following the delivery of olfactory stimuli to the vomeronasal organ of salamanders. Most notably, electrophysiology will be used with the objective of establishing how bioelectrical signals are processed from the vomeronasal sensory neurons to the behavioural brain. The arrow points to a nasolabial groove leading to the right nasal opening in the red-legged salamander.