Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-like immunoreactivity during reproduction in doves: influence of experience and number of offspring.

To assess the possibility that vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) plays a role in naturally occurring changes in prolactin secretion in ring doves, we used immunohistochemical techniques to measure VIP-like immunoreactivity in the brain as a function of stage of the reproductive cycle. Differences between parental and nonparental birds in VIP profiles were detected in the ventral portion of the infundibular region. More specifically, there is an increase in cell size and staining intensity in the ventral infundibulum of breeding birds compared to simultaneously processed tissue taken from control animals. In both sexes, an increase in size of VIP-like immunoreactive cells is detectable during courtship and early incubation, anticipating the increase in plasma prolactin levels. VIP cell size remains elevated from about Incubation Day 14 to Brooding Day 14, and a steady decrease is observed during the remaining posthatching period, as squab begin to feed independently. Compared to parents rearing one squab, those with two young have a prolonged interval of increased infundibular VIP immunoreactivity. Furthermore, doves with no previous experience of a breeding cycle exhibit prolonged VIP-like immunoreactivity compared to experienced parents, paralleling previously described differences between these groups in parental behavior.