Constitutive gene expression differs in three brain regions important for cognition in neophobic and non-neophobic house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

We evaluated wild-caught house sparrows (Passer domesticus) for neophobia in the lab using novel object tests. We selected a subset of neophobic and non-neophobic females (n=3 per phenotype) and extracted RNA from four brain regions involved in learning, memory, threat perception, and executive function: striatum, caudal dorsomedial hippocampus, medial ventral arcopallium, and caudolateral nidopallium.