Activity of FoxP2-positive neurons correlates with begging behavior in a social tadpole.

Motor function is a critical aspect of communication in a wide range of taxa. The transcription factor FoxP2 plays an important role in coordinating the development of motor areas related to vocal communication in humans, mice, and songbirds. However, the role of FoxP2 in regulating motor coordination of non-vocal communication behaviors in other vertebrate taxa is unclear. Here, we test the hypothesis that FoxP2 is associated with begging behavior in tadpoles of the Mimetic poison frog ( Ranitomeya imitator ). In this species, mothers provide unfertilized egg meals to tadpoles that perform a begging display to communicate hunger by vigorously dancing back and forth. We mapped the neural distribution of FoxP2-positive neurons in the tadpole brain, where its wide distribution paralleled that of mammals, birds, and fishes. We next evaluated the activity of FoxP2-positive neurons during tadpole begging and found that FoxP2-positive neurons showed increased activation in the striatum, preoptic area and cerebellum. Overall, this work suggests a generalizable function of FoxP2 in social communication across terrestrial vertebrates.