scholarly journals Online Contributions of Auditory Feedback to Neural Activity in Avian Song Control Circuitry

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (44) ◽  
pp. 11378-11390 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. T. Sakata ◽  
M. S. Brainard
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Avian Song

scholarly journals Postsynaptic neural activity regulates neuronal addition in the adult avian song control system

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (41) ◽  
pp. 16640-16644 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Larson ◽  
T.-W. Wang ◽  
S. D. Gale ◽  
K. E. Miller ◽  
N. M. Thatra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Song Control System ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Avian Song

Hemispheric Coordination Is Necessary for Song Production in Adult Birds: Implications for a Dual Role for Forebrain Nuclei in Vocal Motor Control

2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 373-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin C. Ashmore ◽  
Mark Bourjaily ◽  
Marc F. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Commissure ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Dual Role ◽  
Critical Feature ◽  
Motor Circuits ◽  
Output Structure ◽  
Complex Motor ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Avian Song

Precise coordination across hemispheres is a critical feature of many complex motor circuits. In the avian song system the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) plays a key role in such coordination. It is simultaneously the major output structure for the descending vocal motor pathway, and it also sends inputs to structures in the brain stem and thalamus that project bilaterally back to the forebrain. Because all birds lack a corpus callosum and the anterior commissure does not interconnect any of the song control nuclei directly, these bottom-up connections form the only pathway that can coordinate activity across hemispheres. In this study, we show that unilateral lesions of RA in adult male zebra finches ( Taeniopigia guttata) completely and permanently disrupt the bird's stereotyped song. In contrast, lesions of RA in juvenile birds do not prevent the acquisition of normal song as adults. These results highlight the importance of hemispheric interdependence once the circuit is established but show that one hemisphere is sufficient for complex vocal behavior if this interdependence is prevented during a critical period of development. The ability of birds to sing with a single RA provides the opportunity to test the effect of targeted microlesions in RA without confound of functional compensation from the contralateral RA. We show that microlesions cause significant changes in song temporal structure and implicate RA as playing a major part in the generation of song temporal patterns. These findings implicate a dual role for RA, first as part of the program generator for song and second as part of the circuit that mediates interhemispheric coordination.

scholarly journals Use of PG-21 immunocytochemistry to detect androgen receptors in the songbird brain.

1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (9) ◽  
pp. 1075-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
G T Smith ◽  
E A Brenowitz ◽  
G S Prins
Keyword(s):  
Androgen Receptor ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Androgen Receptors ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Cell Nuclei ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Song Control System ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Avian Song

The avian song control system is an excellent model in which to study the effects of gonadal steroid hormones on neural and behavioral plasticity. Several of the brain regions that control song behavior concentrate androgens and/or estrogens. Investigations of the distribution and regulation of androgen receptors have been limited by the lack of a reliable immunocytochemical method to detect androgen receptors in the songbird brain. We describe a protocol by which the PG-21 polygonal antibody to the rat androgen receptor can be used to label androgen receptor-containing cells in the songbird brain. By treating songbirds of several species with testosterone 90 min before sacrifice and by using relatively low concentrations (0.5 0.75 microg/ml) of PG-21 antibody to reduce nonspecific background staining, we were able to obtain strong specific labeling of cell nuclei in androgen-sensitive brain regions. This technique will facilitate the study of the role of androgens in mediating neural plasticity in the avian brain. Testosterone pretreatment may also facilitate the use of this antibody to label androgen receptors in tissues from a wide array of nonmammalian species.

Corticosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone have opposing effects on adult neuroplasticity in the avian song control system

2010 ◽  
Vol 518 (18) ◽  
pp. 3662-3678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy E.M. Newman ◽  
Scott A. MacDougall-Shackleton ◽  
Yong-Seok An ◽  
Buddhamas Kriengwatana ◽  
Kiran K. Soma
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Song Control System ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Opposing Effects ◽  
Avian Song

scholarly journals Mechanisms of recognition in birds and social Hymenoptera: from detection to information processing

2020 ◽  
Vol 375 (1802) ◽  
pp. 20190483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natacha Rossi ◽  
Sébastien Derégnaucourt
Keyword(s):  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Social Hymenoptera ◽  
Song Control System ◽  
Recognition Systems ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Avian Song ◽  
Evolving Models ◽  
Nest Mate Recognition

In this opinion piece, we briefly review our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying auditory individual recognition in birds and chemical nest-mate recognition in social Hymenoptera. We argue that even though detection and perception of recognition cues are well studied in social Hymenoptera, the neural mechanisms remain a black box. We compare our knowledge of these insect systems with that of the well-studied avian ‘song control system’. We suggest that future studies on recognition should focus on the hypothesis of a distributed template instead of trying to locate the seat of the template as recent results do not seem to point in that direction. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests’.

Plasticity of the Adult Avian Song Control System

2004 ◽  
Vol 1016 (1) ◽  
pp. 560-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELIOT A. BRENOWITZ
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Song Control System ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Avian Song

Estrogen synthesis in the male brain triggers development of the avian song control pathway in vitro

10.1038/84001 ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Clayton Holloway ◽  
David F. Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Estrogen Synthesis ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Avian Song
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