Adaptive variation in social behaviour depends upon standing genetic variation, but we know little about how evolutionary forces shape genetic diversity relevant to brain and behaviour. In prairie voles ( Microtus ochrogaster) , variants at the Avpr1a locus predict expression of the vasopressin 1a receptor in the retrosplenial cortex (RSC), a brain region that mediates spatial and contextual memory; cortical V1aR abundance in...

Organisms can adapt to variable environments by using environmental cues to modulate developmental gene expression. In principle, maternal influences can adaptively adjust offspring phenotype when early life and adult environments match, but they may be maladaptive when future environments are not predictable. One of the best‐studied ‘maternal effects’ is through modification of the offspring's hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (...