Lab Overview
Research in the Leary lab focuses on the neural and endocrine systems underlying animal communication and behavior. Specifically, we are interested in how sexual signals are integrated and processed at the level of the central nervous system, how signal production and detection influences the endocrine physiology of signalers and receivers, and how hormones influence behavior. The integrative nature of our research is set within the context of the reproductive behavioral ecology of anuran amphibians (frogs and toads). These organisms are particularly well-suited to studies in communication and behavior; males produce simple acoustic signals that can be readily acquired, quantified and manipulated to address the relative importance of various signal properties to receivers. Such information can then be applied to questions that incorporate the interrelationships among behavior, endocrinology, signal production, and central auditory processing. Research in my lab employs a variety of techniques including behavioral analysis, phonotaxis experiments, acoustic analysis, signal manipulation and synthesis, radioimmunoassay, hormone manipulation procedures, and electrophysiology.
