title: Feeding motivation as a personality trait in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): role of serotonergic neurotransmission.
abstract: Consistent individual variation in behaviour and physiology (i.e. animal personality or coping style) has emerged as a central topic in many biological disciplines. Yet, underlying mechanisms of crucial personality traits like feeding behaviour in novel environments remain unclear. Comparative studies, however, reveal a strong degree of evolutionary conservation of neural mechanisms controlling such behaviours throughout the vertebrate lineage. Previous studies have indicated duration of stress-induced anorexia as a consistent individual characteristic in teleost fishes. This study aims to determine to what degree brain 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) activity pertains to this aspect of animal personality, as a correlate to feed anticipatory behaviour and recovery of feed intake after transfer to a novel environment. Crucial to the definition of animal personality, a strong degree of individual consistency in different measures of feeding behaviour (feeding latency and feeding score), was demonstrated. Furthermore, low serotonergic activity in the hypothalamus was highly correlated with a personality characterized by high feeding motivation, with feeding motivation represented as an overall measure incorporating several behavioural parameters in a Principle Component Analyses (PCA). This study thus confirms individual variation in brain 5-HT neurotransmission as a correlate to complex behavioural syndromes related to feeding motivation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432, Aas, Norway, tishamaria@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Patricia I M
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Catarina I M
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Höglund
authors.forename: Hans Magnus
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Gjøen
authors.forename: Øyvind
authors.initials: Ø
authors.lastname: Øverli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000662:veterinary; D023681:Cichlids / Q000502:physiology*; D004777:Environment; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology*; D019370:Observation; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin