Like many vertebrates, human beings experience rapid fluctuations in plasma steroid hormones in response to environmental stimuli, such as winning a chess match or watching a favorite sports team lose a critical game. Despite this, the psychological and/or behavioral impact of rapid hormonal changes is poorly understood. Animal models provide a way to experimentally test how neural and hormonal mechanisms regulate rapid changes in behavior. This proposal outlines experiments that will test how rapidly-changing hormone levels may directly lead to rapid changes in vocal communication behavior in a teleost fish. In this study, experimental manipulation of the internal hormonal and external social environments will aid our understanding of the neural, behavioral and endocrine interactions that are common to all vertebrates, including humans. This project will also continue to train field assistants according to a strong commitment to advancing students from a variety of backgrounds and origins.
