Smith Lab

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Neuroethology and Neuroendocrinology of electrocommunication behavior in weakly electric fish

• How does the nervous system control species-typical behavior?

• What mechanisms lead to differences in behavior between species, between sexes, and between individuals?

• How do hormones influence the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system to modify behavior? 

Our laboratory addresses these questions by studying the neuroendocrine control of sexually dimorphic communication behavior in weakly electric fish.  The fish we study produce weak electrical signals from an electric organ in their tail, and they can use these signals to communicate the species identity, sex, and reproductive status of the signaler.  The electrical discharges produced by the fish differ between different species of fish, between males and females, and even between individual fish.  Sex differences in electrical behavior are regulated by androgenic hormones such as  11-ketotestosterone and/or estrogenic hormones such as estradiol.  The circuits in the brain and spinal cord that control these electrical signals are relatively simple and well-characterized.  These features enable us to study the neural and hormonal mechanisms of species- and sex-specific electrical behavior from cellular to organismal levels.  Furthermore, the species diversity of the weakly electric fish allows us an opportunity to use comparative studies to investigate how the physiology of the nervous system and the behavior controlled by the nervous system have evolved.

Learn more about electric fish

Learn more about our research

People in the lab

Graduate students Hanna and Antiño get a charge out of studying electric fish