Increased Neural Activity in the Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis of Uninfected Canaries After Observation of Infected Conspecifics

Authors

• Madeleine Chang, Chapman University
• Sophia Santangelo, Chapman University
• Devon Comito, Chapman University
• Bennett Hardy, Chapman University
• Patricia C. Lopes, Chapman UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-27-2026

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that the immune system may be upregulated in anticipation of pathogen exposure, yet the neural mechanisms that respond to and signal impending infection risk remain poorly understood. We investigated neural responses to infection risk in uninfected hosts observing infected conspecifics, using the canary (Serinus canaria domestica)—Mycoplasma gallisepticum host–parasite system. We focused on five brain regions of interest, comprising three nodes of the social decision-making network—preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and hippocampus—a stress modulatory region (paraventricular nucleus) and a visual processing region (nucleus rotundus). After 1 h of observing infected canaries, healthy canaries had elevated neuronal activity, indicated by an increase in immunoreactive cells labelled for phospho-S6, in the BNST relative to birds observing sham-treated canaries. These results suggest that the BNST could have a role in processing infection-related stimuli.

Comments

This article was originally published in Biology Letters, volume 22, issue 5, in 2026. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0043

Recommended Citation

Chang M, Santangelo S, Comito D, Hardy B, C. Lopes P. 2026 Increased neural activity in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of uninfected canaries after observation of infected conspecifics. Biol. Lett. 22: 20260043. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0043

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.