Losing maternal care: Neotenic gene expression in the preoptic area of avian brood parasites
K. Lynch, L. O'Connell, M. Louder, A. Pellicano, A. Gaglio, A. Xiang, C. Balakrishnan, E. Fischer
The paper compares gene expression in the preoptic area of brood parasitic and non-parasitic birds to investigate molecular mechanisms of maternal behavior loss, finding evidence for neotenic gene expression.
bioRxiv · Jun 16, 2018Animal Behavior & Cognition