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Chiver I, Dos Santos EB, Valle S, Lallemand F, Cornil CA, Ball GF, Balthazart J. Effects of the depletion of neural progenitors by focal X-ray irradiation on song production and perception in canaries. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9010. [PMID: 37268657 PMCID: PMC10238387 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36089-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The song control nucleus HVC of songbirds has emerged as a widespread model system to study adult neurogenesis and the factors that modulate the incorporation of new neurons, including seasonal state, sex differences or sex steroid hormone concentrations. However, the specific function of these new neurons born in adulthood remains poorly understood. We implemented a new procedure based on focal X-ray irradiation to deplete neural progenitors in the ventricular zone adjacent to HVC and study the functional consequences. A 23 Gy dose depleted by more than 50 percent the incorporation of BrdU in neural progenitors, a depletion that was confirmed by a significant decrease in doublecortin positive neurons. This depletion of neurogenesis significantly increased the variability of testosterone-induced songs in females and decreased their bandwidth. Expression of the immediate early gene ZENK in secondary auditory areas of the telencephalon that respond to song was also inhibited. These data provide evidence that new neurons in HVC play a role in both song production and perception and that X-ray focal irradiation represents an excellent tool to advance our understanding of adult neurogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioana Chiver
- GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liege, 15 Avenue Hippocrate, 4000, Liège, Belgium
| | - Ednei B Dos Santos
- GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liege, 15 Avenue Hippocrate, 4000, Liège, Belgium
| | - Shelley Valle
- GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liege, 15 Avenue Hippocrate, 4000, Liège, Belgium
| | | | - Charlotte A Cornil
- GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liege, 15 Avenue Hippocrate, 4000, Liège, Belgium
| | - Gregory F Ball
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Jacques Balthazart
- GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liege, 15 Avenue Hippocrate, 4000, Liège, Belgium.
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2
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Friedrich SR, Nevue AA, Andrade ALP, Velho TAF, Mello CV. Emergence of sex-specific transcriptomes in a sexually dimorphic brain nucleus. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111152. [PMID: 35926465 PMCID: PMC9385264 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
We present the transcriptomic changes underlying the development of an extreme neuroanatomical sex difference. The robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) is a key component of the songbird vocal motor system. In zebra finch, the RA is initially monomorphic and then atrophies in females but grows up to 7-fold larger in males. Mirroring this divergence, we show here that sex-differential gene expression in the RA expands from hundreds of predominantly sex chromosome Z genes in early development to thousands of predominantly autosomal genes by the time sexual dimorphism asymptotes. Male-specific developmental processes include cell and axonal growth, synapse assembly and activity, and energy metabolism; female-specific processes include cell polarity and differentiation, transcriptional repression, and steroid hormone and immune signaling. Transcription factor binding site analyses support female-biased activation of pro-apoptotic regulatory networks. The extensive and sex-specific transcriptomic reorganization of RA provides insights into potential drivers of sexually dimorphic neurodevelopment. Friedrich et al. demonstrate extensive transcriptomic sex differences underlying the sexually dimorphic development of vocal nucleus RA in the songbird brain. They find sex-specific gene regulation linked to distinct biological processes, developmental shifts in the relative signal from sex chromosome to autosomal genes, and evidence of female-biased pro-apoptotic regulatory networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha R Friedrich
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Alexander A Nevue
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Abraão L P Andrade
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN 59078-970, Brazil
| | - Tarciso A F Velho
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN 59078-970, Brazil
| | - Claudio V Mello
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Portland, OR 97239, USA.
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3
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He X, Zhang Y. Protective Effect of Amino Acids on the Muscle Injury of Aerobics Athletes after Endurance Exercise Based on CT Images. JOURNAL OF HEALTHCARE ENGINEERING 2022; 2022:5961267. [PMID: 35345656 PMCID: PMC8957454 DOI: 10.1155/2022/5961267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
During the training process, the aerobics athletes gradually increase their technical movements, the appreciation of the movements has been gradually improved, and the injuries of the athletes themselves have also gradually become serious. Based on CT image analysis, we study the protective effect of amino acids on aerobics athletes' muscle injury after endurance exercise. There are three major substance metabolism disorders in patients with muscle sclerosis, which are mainly manifested as decreased glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Some patients develop muscle-derived diabetes. At the same time, the synthesis of lipids such as cholesterol and apolipoproteins decreases, the production of ketone bodies increases and the body uses more ketones for energy. The BCAA/AAA factor refers to the branched-chain amino acid/aromatic amino acid (BCAA/AAA) value. In amino acid metabolism, plasma albumin decreased significantly, the ratio of amino acids was unbalanced, and BCAA/AAA decreased, which was more likely to induce muscular encephalopathy. Using computer tomography (CT) to study the protective effect of amino acids on muscle injury, 32 aerobics athletes were randomly divided into an intervention group (Ig) and a control group (CG), each with 16 people. After 64-slice spiral CT scanning of muscles and three-dimensional reconstruction, the intervention group and the control group participated in aerobic endurance training 3 weeks in advance to establish a muscle microinjury model. The intervention group took the preprepared BCAA, while the control group did not take it. After three weeks of training, there will be one hour and three hours of aerobics competition. We need to detect changes in blood glucose (BS), creatine kinase (SCK), lactate dehydrogenase (LD), alanine (ALA), and alanine aminotransferase (AA) before and after exercise and 1 hour after exercise and record AVS athletes' pain analysis table. We successfully established the muscle injury model, letting all athletes' VAS score in 6-8 points; after 1 hour of exercise, the measurement results were the same as those of 2 hours. Therefore, after endurance training, the blood glucose content of the intervention group gradually decreased and returned to the original level after 2 hours of exercise, while the control group was lower than the level of exercise after 2 hours of exercise; the content of alanine in the two groups decreased more after 2 hours of exercise; the results of serum creatine kinase in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group after exercise. In the intervention group, lactate dehydrogenase increased rapidly at 2 hours after exercise; the alanine aminotransferase in the intervention group increased after exercise, but there was no significant change in the control group. It is also concluded that the longer the exercise time and the more energy consumption, the more effective the branched-chain amino acids supplement will be. The obtained imaging data can provide a more intuitive and accurate basis for the scientific selection of athletes, and amino acids can promote the synthesis of hormones, accelerate the synthesis of proteins and other products, reduce the content of creatine kinase in the blood, and protect the rapid recovery of muscle damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianghai He
- School of Physical Education and Health, Yulin Normal University, Yulin 537000, Guangxi, China
| | - Yingjun Zhang
- Medical School, Hunan University of Medicine, Huaihua 418000, Hunan, China
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4
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Immediate early gene expression related to learning and retention of a visual discrimination task in bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium griseum). Brain Struct Funct 2018; 223:3975-4003. [PMID: 30109492 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1728-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Using the expression of the immediate early gene (IEG) egr-1 as a neuronal activity marker, brain regions potentially involved in learning and long-term memory functions in the grey bamboo shark were assessed with respect to selected visual discrimination abilities. Immunocytochemistry revealed a significant up-regulation of egr-1 expression levels in a small region of the telencephalon of all trained sharks (i.e., 'early' and 'late learners', 'recallers') when compared to three control groups (i.e., 'controls', 'undisturbed swimmers', 'constant movers'). There was also a well-defined difference in egr-1 expression patterns between the three control groups. Additionally, some staining was observed in diencephalic and mesencephalic sections; however, staining here was weak and occurred only irregularly within and between groups. Therefore, it could have either resulted from unintentional cognitive or non-cognitive inducements (i.e., relating to the mental processes of perception, learning, memory, and judgment, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes) rather than being a training effect. Present findings emphasize a relationship between the training conditions and the corresponding egr-1 expression levels found in the telencephalon of Chiloscyllium griseum. Results suggest important similarities in the neuronal plasticity and activity-dependent IEG expression of the elasmobranch brain with other vertebrate groups. The presence of the egr-1 gene seems to be evolutionarily conserved and may therefore be particularly useful for identifying functional neural responses within this group.
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5
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Merullo DP, Asogwa CN, Sanchez-Valpuesta M, Hayase S, Pattnaik BR, Wada K, Riters LV. Neurotensin and neurotensin receptor 1 mRNA expression in song-control regions changes during development in male zebra finches. Dev Neurobiol 2018; 78:671-686. [PMID: 29569407 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Revised: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 03/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Learned vocalizations are important for communication in some vertebrate taxa. The neural circuitry for the learning and production of vocalizations is well known in songbirds, many of which learn songs initially during a critical period early in life. Dopamine is essential for motor learning, including song learning, and dopamine-related measures change throughout development in song-control regions such as HVC, the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (LMAN), Area X, and the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA). In mammals, the neuropeptide neurotensin strongly interacts with dopamine signaling. This study investigated a potential role for the neurotensin system in song learning by examining how neurotensin (Nts) and neurotensin receptor 1 (Ntsr1) expression change throughout development. Nts and Ntsr1 mRNA expression was analyzed in song-control regions of male zebra finches in four stages of the song learning process: pre-subsong (25 days posthatch; dph), subsong (45 dph), plastic song (60 dph), and crystallized song (130 dph). Nts expression in LMAN during the subsong stage was lower compared to other time points. Ntsr1 expression was highest in HVC, Area X, and RA during the pre-subsong stage. Opposite and complementary expression patterns for the two genes in song nuclei and across the whole brain suggest distinct roles for regions that produce and receive Nts. The expression changes at crucial time points for song development are similar to changes observed in dopamine studies and suggest Nts may be involved in the process of vocal learning. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 78: 671-686, 2018.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devin P Merullo
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706
| | - Chinweike N Asogwa
- Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan
| | | | - Shin Hayase
- Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Bikash R Pattnaik
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706.,Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706
| | - Kazuhiro Wada
- Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Lauren V Riters
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706
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6
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Cui J, Song X, Zhu B, Fang G, Tang Y, Ryan MJ. Receiver discriminability drives the evolution of complex sexual signals by sexual selection. Evolution 2016; 70:922-7. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2015] [Revised: 01/30/2016] [Accepted: 02/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jianguo Cui
- Chengdu Institute of Biology; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chengdu Sichuan 610041 China
| | - Xiaowei Song
- Chengdu Institute of Biology; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chengdu Sichuan 610041 China
| | - Bicheng Zhu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chengdu Sichuan 610041 China
| | - Guangzhan Fang
- Chengdu Institute of Biology; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chengdu Sichuan 610041 China
| | - Yezhong Tang
- Chengdu Institute of Biology; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chengdu Sichuan 610041 China
| | - Michael J. Ryan
- Department of Integrative Biology; University of Texas; 1 University Station C0930 Austin Texas 78712
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7
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Bailey DJ, Saldanha CJ. The importance of neural aromatization in the acquisition, recall, and integration of song and spatial memories in passerines. Horm Behav 2015; 74:116-24. [PMID: 26122300 PMCID: PMC9366902 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2015] [Revised: 06/11/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "Estradiol and cognition". In addition to their well-studied and crucial effects on brain development and aging, an increasing number of investigations across vertebrate species indicate that estrogens like 17β-estradiol (E2) have pronounced and rapid effects on cognitive function. The incidence and regulation of the E2-synthesizing enzyme aromatase at the synapse in regions of the brain responsible for learning, memory, social communication and other complex cognitive processes suggest that local E2 production and action affect the acute and chronic activity of individual neurons and circuits. Songbirds in particular are excellent models for the study of this "synaptocrine" hormone provision given that aromatase is abundantly expressed in neuronal soma, dendrites, and at the synapse across many brain regions in both sexes. Additionally, songbirds readily acquire and recall memories in laboratory settings, and their stereotyped behaviors may be manipulated and measured with relative ease. This leads to a rather unparalleled advantage in the use of these animals in studies of the role of neural aromatization in cognition. In this review we describe the results of a number of experiments in songbird species with a focus on the influence of synaptic E2 provision on two cognitive processes: auditory discrimination reliant on the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), a telencephalic region likely homologous to the auditory cortex in mammals, and spatial memory dependent on the hippocampus. Data from these studies are providing evidence that the local and acute provision of E2 modulates the hormonal, electrical, and cognitive outputs of the vertebrate brain and aids in memory acquisition, retention, and perhaps the confluence of memory systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Bailey
- Biology, St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI 54115, United States.
| | - Colin J Saldanha
- Department of Biology, American University, Washington, DC 20016, United States; Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, DC 20016, United States.
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8
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Abstract
Across species, a similar suite of traits tends to develop in response to domestication, including modifications in behavior. Reduced fear and increased stress tolerance were central in early domestication, and many domestication-related behaviors may have developed as traits correlated to reduced fear. Genetic mechanisms involved in domestication of behavior can be investigated by using top-down or bottom-up approaches, either starting from the behavior variation and searching for underlying genes or finding selected loci and then attempting to identify the associated phenotypes. Combinations of these approaches have proven powerful, and examples of results from such studies are presented and discussed. This includes loci associated with tameness in foxes and dogs, as well as loci correlated with reduced aggression and increased sociality in chickens. Finally, some examples are provided on epigenetic mechanisms in behavior, and it is suggested that selection of favorable epigenetic variants may have been an important mechanism in domestication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Per Jensen
- IFM Biology, AVIAN Behavioural Genomics and Physiology Group, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden;
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9
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Olson CR, Hodges LK, Mello CV. Dynamic gene expression in the song system of zebra finches during the song learning period. Dev Neurobiol 2015; 75:1315-38. [PMID: 25787707 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2015] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The brain circuitry that controls song learning and production undergoes marked changes in morphology and connectivity during the song learning period in juvenile zebra finches, in parallel to the acquisition, practice and refinement of song. Yet, the genetic programs and timing of regulatory change that establish the neuronal connectivity and plasticity during this critical learning period remain largely undetermined. To address this question, we used in situ hybridization to compare the expression patterns of a set of 30 known robust molecular markers of HVC and/or area X, major telencephalic song nuclei, between adult and juvenile male zebra finches at different ages during development (20, 35, 50 days post-hatch, dph). We found that several of the genes examined undergo substantial changes in expression within HVC or its surrounds, and/or in other song nuclei. They fit into broad patterns of regulation, including those whose expression within HVC during this period increases (COL12A1, COL 21A1, MPZL1, PVALB, and CXCR7) or decreases (e.g., KCNT2, SAP30L), as well as some that show decreased expression in the surrounding tissue with little change within song nuclei (e.g. SV2B, TAC1). These results reveal a broad range of molecular changes that occur in the song system in concert with the song learning period. Some of the genes and pathways identified are potential modulators of the developmental changes associated with the emergence of the adult properties of the song control system, and/or the acquisition of learned vocalizations in songbirds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R Olson
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road L470, Portland, Oregon, 97239-3098
| | - Lisa K Hodges
- Biology Department, Lewis and Clark College, 0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Road, Portland, Oregon 97219
| | - Claudio V Mello
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road L470, Portland, Oregon, 97239-3098
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10
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Jensen P. Adding ‘epi-’ to behaviour genetics: implications for animal domestication. J Exp Biol 2015; 218:32-40. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.106799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
In this review, it is argued that greatly improved understanding of domestication may be gained from extending the field of behaviour genetics to also include epigenetics. Domestication offers an interesting framework of rapid evolutionary changes caused by well-defined selection pressures. Behaviour is an important phenotype in this context, as it represents the primary means of response to environmental challenges. An overview is provided of the evidence for genetic involvement in behavioural control and the presently used methods for finding so-called behaviour genes. This shows that evolutionary changes in behaviour are to a large extent correlated to changes in patterns of gene expression, which brings epigenetics into the focus. This area is concerned with the mechanisms controlling the timing and extent of gene expression, and a lot of focus has been placed on methylation of cytosine in promoter regions, usually associated with genetic downregulation. The review considers the available evidence that environmental input, for example stress, can modify methylation and other epigenetic marks and subsequently affect behaviour. Furthermore, several studies are reviewed, demonstrating that acquired epigenetic modifications can be inherited and cause trans-generational behaviour changes. In conclusion, epigenetics may signify a new paradigm in this respect, as it shows that genomic modifications can be caused by environmental signals, and random mutations in DNA sequence are therefore not the only sources of heritable genetic variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Per Jensen
- Linköping University, IFM Biology, AVIAN Behaviour Genomics and Physiology Group, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
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11
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The opportunities and challenges of large-scale molecular approaches to songbird neurobiology. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2014; 50:70-6. [PMID: 25280907 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2014] [Revised: 09/08/2014] [Accepted: 09/22/2014] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
High-throughput methods for analyzing genome structure and function are having a large impact in songbird neurobiology. Methods include genome sequencing and annotation, comparative genomics, DNA microarrays and transcriptomics, and the development of a brain atlas of gene expression. Key emerging findings include the identification of complex transcriptional programs active during singing, the robust brain expression of non-coding RNAs, evidence of profound variations in gene expression across brain regions, and the identification of molecular specializations within song production and learning circuits. Current challenges include the statistical analysis of large datasets, effective genome curations, the efficient localization of gene expression changes to specific neuronal circuits and cells, and the dissection of behavioral and environmental factors that influence brain gene expression. The field requires efficient methods for comparisons with organisms like chicken, which offer important anatomical, functional and behavioral contrasts. As sequencing costs plummet, opportunities emerge for comparative approaches that may help reveal evolutionary transitions contributing to vocal learning, social behavior and other properties that make songbirds such compelling research subjects.
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12
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Abstract
Our view of the evolution of sexually selected traits and preferences was influenced radically in the 1990s by studies that emphasized how signals interact with sensory properties of receivers. Here, twenty-five years later, we review evidence that has accumulated in support of this idea. We replace the term sensory biases with perceptual biases to emphasize the growing knowledge of how cognitive processes generate selection on sexual traits. We show that mating preferences among conspecifics (e.g., sexual selection by mate choice) often are influenced by perceptual adaptations and constraints that have evolved in other contexts. We suggest that these perceptual biases need not be costly to females when they influence mate choice because in many cases they generate direct benefits. Although we do not reject a role for indirect benefits in mate choice, such as good genes, exclusive focus on eugenic mate choice limits our understanding of the evolution of the remarkable diversity of sexually selected traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Ryan
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712;,
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panama
| | - Molly E. Cummings
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712;,
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13
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Ferrari PF, Tramacere A, Simpson EA, Iriki A. Mirror neurons through the lens of epigenetics. Trends Cogn Sci 2013; 17:450-7. [PMID: 23953747 PMCID: PMC3869228 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2013] [Revised: 07/05/2013] [Accepted: 07/06/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The consensus view in mirror neuron research is that mirror neurons comprise a uniform, stable execution-observation matching system. In this opinion article, we argue that, in light of recent evidence, this is at best an incomplete and oversimplified view of mirror neurons, where activity is actually variable and more plastic than previously theorized. We propose an epigenetic account for understanding developmental changes in sensorimotor systems, including variations in mirror neuron activity. Although associative and genetic accounts fail to consider the complexity of genetic and nongenetic interactions, we propose a new evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) perspective, which predicts that environmental differences early in development should produce variations in mirror neuron response patterns, tuning them to the social environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pier F Ferrari
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, Parma, Italy.
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14
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Abstract
Songbirds have unique value as a model for memory and learning. In their natural social life, they communicate through vocalizations that they must learn to produce and recognize. Song communication elicits abrupt changes in gene expression in regions of the forebrain responsible for song perception and production--what is the functional significance of this genomic response? For 20 years, the focus of research was on just a few genes [primarily ZENK, now known as egr1 (early gene response 1)]. Recently, however, DNA microarrays have been developed and applied to songbird behavioral research, and in 2010 the initial draft assembly of the zebra finch genome was published. Together, these new data reveal that the genomic involvement in song processing is far more complex than anticipated. The concepts of neurogenomic computation and biological embedding are introduced as frameworks for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- David F Clayton
- Biological and Experimental Psychology Division, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom;
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15
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Elphick MR. The evolution and comparative neurobiology of endocannabinoid signalling. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2012; 367:3201-15. [PMID: 23108540 PMCID: PMC3481536 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
CB(1)- and CB(2)-type cannabinoid receptors mediate effects of the endocannabinoids 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and anandamide in mammals. In canonical endocannabinoid-mediated synaptic plasticity, 2-AG is generated postsynaptically by diacylglycerol lipase alpha and acts via presynaptic CB(1)-type cannabinoid receptors to inhibit neurotransmitter release. Electrophysiological studies on lampreys indicate that this retrograde signalling mechanism occurs throughout the vertebrates, whereas system-level studies point to conserved roles for endocannabinoid signalling in neural mechanisms of learning and control of locomotor activity and feeding. CB(1)/CB(2)-type receptors originated in a common ancestor of extant chordates, and in the sea squirt Ciona intestinalis a CB(1)/CB(2)-type receptor is targeted to axons, indicative of an ancient role for cannabinoid receptors as axonal regulators of neuronal signalling. Although CB(1)/CB(2)-type receptors are unique to chordates, enzymes involved in biosynthesis/inactivation of endocannabinoids occur throughout the animal kingdom. Accordingly, non-CB(1)/CB(2)-mediated mechanisms of endocannabinoid signalling have been postulated. For example, there is evidence that 2-AG mediates retrograde signalling at synapses in the nervous system of the leech Hirudo medicinalis by activating presynaptic transient receptor potential vanilloid-type ion channels. Thus, postsynaptic synthesis of 2-AG or anandamide may be a phylogenetically widespread phenomenon, and a variety of proteins may have evolved as presynaptic (or postsynaptic) receptors for endocannabinoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurice R Elphick
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK.
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16
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Amaya KR, Sweedler JV, Clayton DF. Small molecule analysis and imaging of fatty acids in the zebra finch song system using time-of-flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry. J Neurochem 2011; 118:499-511. [PMID: 21496023 PMCID: PMC3137756 DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2011.07274.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Fatty acids are central to brain metabolism and signaling, but their distributions within complex brain circuits have been difficult to study. Here we applied an emerging technique, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), to image specific fatty acids in a favorable model system for chemical analyses of brain circuits, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). The zebra finch, a songbird, produces complex learned vocalizations under the control of an interconnected set of discrete, dedicated brain nuclei 'song nuclei'. Using ToF-SIMS, the major song nuclei were visualized by virtue of differences in their content of essential and non-essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids (arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) showed distinctive distributions across the song nuclei, and the 18-carbon fatty acids stearate and oleate discriminated the different core and shell subregions of the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium. Principal component analysis of the spectral data set provided further evidence of chemical distinctions between the song nuclei. By analyzing the robust nucleus of the arcopallium at three different ages during juvenile song learning, we obtain the first direct evidence of changes in lipid content that correlate with progression of song learning. The results demonstrate the value of ToF-SIMS to study lipids in a favorable model system for probing the function of lipids in brain organization, development and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kensey R Amaya
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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Tokarev K, Tiunova A, Scharff C, Anokhin K. Food for song: expression of c-Fos and ZENK in the zebra finch song nuclei during food aversion learning. PLoS One 2011; 6:e21157. [PMID: 21695176 PMCID: PMC3112232 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2010] [Accepted: 05/20/2011] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Specialized neural pathways, the song system, are required for acquiring, producing, and perceiving learned avian vocalizations. Birds that do not learn to produce their vocalizations lack telencephalic song system components. It is not known whether the song system forebrain regions are exclusively evolved for song or whether they also process information not related to song that might reflect their 'evolutionary history'. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To address this question we monitored the induction of two immediate-early genes (IEGs) c-Fos and ZENK in various regions of the song system in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in response to an aversive food learning paradigm; this involves the association of a food item with a noxious stimulus that affects the oropharyngeal-esophageal cavity and tongue, causing subsequent avoidance of that food item. The motor response results in beak and head movements but not vocalizations. IEGs have been extensively used to map neuro-molecular correlates of song motor production and auditory processing. As previously reported, neurons in two pallial vocal motor regions, HVC and RA, expressed IEGs after singing. Surprisingly, c-Fos was induced equivalently also after food aversion learning in the absence of singing. The density of c-Fos positive neurons was significantly higher than that of birds in control conditions. This was not the case in two other pallial song nuclei important for vocal plasticity, LMAN and Area X, although singing did induce IEGs in these structures, as reported previously. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our results are consistent with the possibility that some of the song nuclei may participate in non-vocal learning and the populations of neurons involved in the two tasks show partial overlap. These findings underscore the previously advanced notion that the specialized forebrain pre-motor nuclei controlling song evolved from circuits involved in behaviors related to feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirill Tokarev
- Department of the Neurobiology of Memory, PK Anokhin Institute of Normal Physiology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
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18
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Olson CR, Rodrigues PV, Jeong JK, Prahl DJ, Mello CV. Organization and development of zebra finch HVC and paraHVC based on expression of zRalDH, an enzyme associated with retinoic acid production. J Comp Neurol 2011; 519:148-61. [PMID: 21120932 PMCID: PMC3064427 DOI: 10.1002/cne.22510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The zRalDH gene encodes an aldehyde dehydrogenase associated with the conversion of retinaldehyde (the main vitamin A metabolite) into retinoic acid and its expression is highly enriched in the song control system of adult zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Within song control nucleus HVC, zRalDH is specifically expressed in the neurons that project to area X of the striatum. It is also expressed in paraHVC, commonly considered a medial extension of HVC that is closely associated with auditory areas in the caudomedial telencephalon. Here we used in situ hybridization to generate a detailed analysis of HVC and paraHVC based on expression of zRalDH for adult zebra finches of both sexes and for males during the song-learning period. We demonstrate that the distribution of zRalDH-positive cells can be used for accurate assessments of HVC and paraHVC in adult and juvenile males. We describe marked developmental changes in the numbers of zRalDH-expressing cells in HVC and paraHVC, reaching a peak at day 50 posthatch, an effect potentially due to dynamic changes in the population of X-projecting cells in HVC. We also show that zRalDH-expressing cells in adult females, although much less numerous than in males, have a surprisingly broad distribution along the medial-to-lateral extent of HVC, but are lacking where paraHVC is found in adult males. Our study thus contributes to our understanding of the nuclear organization of the song system and the dynamics of its developmental changes during the song-learning period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R Olson
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon 97239, USA
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19
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Kato M, Okanoya K. Molecular characterization of the song control nucleus HVC in Bengalese finch brain. Brain Res 2010; 1360:56-76. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2010] [Revised: 08/11/2010] [Accepted: 09/07/2010] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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20
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White SA. Genes and vocal learning. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2010; 115:21-28. [PMID: 19913899 PMCID: PMC2888939 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2009.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2009] [Revised: 09/25/2009] [Accepted: 10/12/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Could a mutation in a single gene be the evolutionary lynchpin supporting the development of human language? A rare mutation in the molecule known as FOXP2 discovered in a human family seemed to suggest so, and its sequence phylogeny reinforced a Chomskian view that language emerged wholesale in humans. Spurred by this discovery, research in primates, rodents and birds suggests that FoxP2 and other language-related genes are interactors in the neuromolecular networks that underlie subsystems of language, such symbolic understanding, vocal learning and theory of mind. The whole picture will only come together through comparative and integrative study into how the human language singularity evolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie A White
- Department of Physiological Science, University of California, Los Angeles, 90095, USA.
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21
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Identification of male-biased gene: Parvalbumin in song control nuclei of the Bengalese finch. Neurosci Res 2010; 68:22-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2010.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2010] [Revised: 05/06/2010] [Accepted: 05/18/2010] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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22
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London SE, Dong S, Replogle K, Clayton DF. Developmental shifts in gene expression in the auditory forebrain during the sensitive period for song learning. Dev Neurobiol 2009; 69:437-50. [PMID: 19360720 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.20719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
A male zebra finch begins to learn to sing by memorizing a tutor's song during a sensitive period in juvenile development. Tutor song memorization requires molecular signaling within the auditory forebrain. Using microarray and in situ hybridizations, we tested whether the auditory forebrain at an age just before tutoring expresses a different set of genes compared with later life after song learning has ceased. Microarray analysis revealed differences in expression of thousands of genes in the male auditory forebrain at posthatch day 20 (P20) compared with adulthood. Furthermore, song playbacks had essentially no impact on gene expression in P20 auditory forebrain, but altered expression of hundreds of genes in adults. Most genes that were song-responsive in adults were expressed at constitutively high levels at P20. Using in situ hybridization with a representative sample of 44 probes, we confirmed these effects and found that birds at P20 and P45 were similar in their gene expression patterns. Additionally, eight of the probes showed male-female differences in expression. We conclude that the developing auditory forebrain is in a very different molecular state from the adult, despite its relatively mature gross morphology and electrophysiological responsiveness to song stimuli. Developmental gene expression changes may contribute to fine-tuning of cellular and molecular properties necessary for song learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E London
- Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
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23
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Clayton DF, George JM, Mello CV, Siepka SM. Conservation and expression of IQ-domain-containing calpacitin gene products (neuromodulin/GAP-43, neurogranin/RC3) in the adult and developing oscine song control system. Dev Neurobiol 2009; 69:124-40. [PMID: 19023859 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.20686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Songbirds are appreciated for the insights they provide into regulated neural plasticity. Here, we describe the comparative analysis and brain expression of two gene sequences encoding probable regulators of synaptic plasticity in songbirds: neuromodulin (GAP-43) and neurogranin (RC3). Both are members of the calpacitin family and share a distinctive conserved core domain that mediates interactions between calcium, calmodulin, and protein kinase C signaling pathways. Comparative sequence analysis is consistent with known phylogenetic relationships, with songbirds most closely related to chicken and progressively more distant from mammals and fish. The C-terminus of neurogranin is different in birds and mammals, and antibodies to the protein reveal high expression in adult zebra finches in cerebellar Purkinje cells, which has not been observed in other species. RNAs for both proteins are generally abundant in the telencephalon yet markedly reduced in certain nuclei of the song control system in adult canaries and zebra finches: neuromodulin RNA is very low in RA and HVC (relative to the surrounding pallial areas), whereas neurogranin RNA is conspicuously low in Area X (relative to surrounding striatum). In both cases, this selective downregulation develops in the zebra finch during the juvenile song learning period, 25-45 days after hatching. These results suggest molecular parallels to the robust stability of the adult avian song control circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- David F Clayton
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA.
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24
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Tomaszycki ML, Peabody C, Replogle K, Clayton DF, Tempelman RJ, Wade J. Sexual differentiation of the zebra finch song system: potential roles for sex chromosome genes. BMC Neurosci 2009; 10:24. [PMID: 19309515 PMCID: PMC2664819 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-10-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2008] [Accepted: 03/23/2009] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent evidence suggests that some sex differences in brain and behavior might result from direct genetic effects, and not solely the result of the organizational effects of steroid hormones. The present study examined the potential role for sex-biased gene expression during development of sexually dimorphic singing behavior and associated song nuclei in juvenile zebra finches. RESULTS A microarray screen revealed more than 2400 putative genes (with a false discovery rate less than 0.05) exhibiting sex differences in the telencephalon of developing zebra finches. Increased expression in males was confirmed in 12 of 20 by qPCR using cDNA from the whole telencephalon; all of these appeared to be located on the Z sex chromosome. Six of the genes also showed increased expression in one or more of the song control nuclei of males at post-hatching day 25. Although the function of half of the genes is presently unknown, we have identified three as: 17-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type IV, methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase, and sorting nexin 2. CONCLUSION The data suggest potential influences of these genes in song learning and/or masculinization of song system morphology, both of which are occurring at this developmental stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle L Tomaszycki
- Department of Psychology & Program in Neuroscience, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
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25
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Axelsson E, Hultin-Rosenberg L, Brandström M, Zwahlén M, Clayton DF, Ellegren H. Natural selection in avian protein-coding genes expressed in brain. Mol Ecol 2008; 17:3008-17. [PMID: 18482257 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2008.03795.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of birds from theropod dinosaurs took place approximately 150 million years ago, and was associated with a number of specific adaptations that are still evident among extant birds, including feathers, song and extravagant secondary sexual characteristics. Knowledge about the molecular evolutionary background to such adaptations is lacking. Here, we analyse the evolution of > 5000 protein-coding gene sequences expressed in zebra finch brain by comparison to orthologous sequences in chicken. Mean d(N)/d(S) is 0.085 and genes with their maximal expression in the eye and central nervous system have the lowest mean d(N)/d(S) value, while those expressed in digestive and reproductive tissues exhibit the highest. We find that fast-evolving genes (those which have higher than expected rate of nonsynonymous substitution, indicative of adaptive evolution) are enriched for biological functions such as fertilization, muscle contraction, defence response, response to stress, wounding and endogenous stimulus, and cell death. After alignment to mammalian orthologues, we identify a catalogue of 228 genes that show a significantly higher rate of protein evolution in the two bird lineages than in mammals. These accelerated bird genes, representing candidates for avian-specific adaptations, include genes implicated in vocal learning and other cognitive processes. Moreover, colouration genes evolve faster in birds than in mammals, which may have been driven by sexual selection for extravagant plumage characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Axelsson
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
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26
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Brockmann A, Robinson GE. Central projections of sensory systems involved in honey bee dance language communication. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2007; 70:125-36. [PMID: 17519525 DOI: 10.1159/000102974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2006] [Accepted: 11/27/2006] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Honey bee dance language is a unique and complex form of animal communication used to inform nest mates in the colony about the specific location of food sources or new nest sites. Five different sensory systems have been implicated in acquiring and communicating the information necessary for dance language communication. We present results from neuronal tracer studies identifying the central projections from four of the five. Sensory neurons of the dorsal rim area of the compound eyes, involved in acquiring sun-compass based information, project to the dorsal-most part of the medulla. Sensory neurons of the neck hair plates, required to transpose sun-compass based information to gravity-based information in the dark hive, project to the dorsal labial neuromere of the subesophageal ganglion. Sensory neurons from the antennal joint hair sensilla and the Johnston's organ, which perceive information on dance direction and distance from mechanostimuli generated by abdomen waggling and wing vibration, project to the deutocerebral dorsal lobe and the subesophageal ganglion, and the posterior protocerebrum, respectively. We found no 'dance-specific' projections relative to those previously described for drone and queen honey bees and other insect species that do not exhibit dance communication. We suggest that the evolution of dance language communication was likely based on the modification of central neural pathways associated with path integration, the capability to calculate distance, and directional information during flight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Brockmann
- Department of Entomology, and Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
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27
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VELHO TARCISOA, LOVELL PETER, MELLO CLAUDIOV. Enriched expression and developmental regulation of the middle-weight neurofilament (NF-M) gene in song control nuclei of the zebra finch. J Comp Neurol 2007; 500:477-97. [PMID: 17120287 PMCID: PMC4032091 DOI: 10.1002/cne.21180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Songbirds evolved a complex set of dimorphic telencephalic nuclei that are essential for the learning and production of song. These nuclei, which together make up the oscine song control system, present several neurochemical properties that distinguish them from the rest of the telencephalon. Here we show that the expression of the gene encoding the middle-weight neurofilament (NF-M), an important component of the neuronal cytoskeleton and a useful tool for studying the cytarchitectonic organization of mammalian cortical areas, is highly enriched in large neurons within pallial song control nuclei (nucleus HVC, robustus nucleus of the arcopallium, and lateral magnocellular nucleus of the nidopallium) of male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We also show that this transcript is highly expressed in large neurons in the medulla, pons, midbrain, and thalamus. Moreover, we demonstrate that NF-M expression in song control nuclei changes during postembryonic development, peaking during an early phase of the song-learning period that coincides with the maturation of the song system. We did not observe changes in NF-M expression in auditory areas or in song control nuclei in the contexts of hearing song or singing, although these contexts result in marked induction of the transcription factor ZENK. This observation suggests that NF-M might not be under the regulatory control of ZENK in auditory areas or in song control nuclei. Overall, our data indicate that NF-M is a neurochemical marker for pallial song control nuclei and provide suggestive evidence of an involvement of NF-M in the development and/or maturation of the oscine song control system.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - CLAUDIO V. MELLO
- Correspondence to: Claudio V. Mello, MD, PhD, Neurological Sciences Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, 505 NW 185th Ave., Beaverton, OR 97006.
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Singh TD, Nordeen EJ, Nordeen KW. Song tutoring triggers CaMKII phosphorylation within a specialized portion of the avian basal ganglia. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005; 65:179-91. [PMID: 16114029 DOI: 10.1002/neu.20198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
In several songbird species, a specialized anterior forebrain pathway (AFP) that includes part of the avian basal ganglia has been implicated specifically in song learning. To further elucidate cellular mechanisms and circuitry involved in vocal learning, we used quantitative immunoblot analysis to determine if early song tutoring promotes within the AFP phosphorylation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), a multifunctional kinase whose phosphorylation at threonine 286 is critical for many forms of neural plasticity and behavioral learning. We report that in young male zebra finches likely to have begun the process of song acquisition, brief tutoring by a familiar conspecific adult promotes a dramatic increase in levels of phosphorylated CaMKII (pCaMKII) in Area X, the striatal/pallidal component of the AFP. In contrast, pCaMKII levels in this region were not elevated if 1) the tutor did not sing, 2) the tutor sang but was visually isolated from the pupil, or 3) the tutor was an unfamiliar adult. In young males that had not previously heard any conspecific song, first exposure to a song tutor produced a more modest, but significant rise in pCaMKII levels. Young females (who do not develop song behavior) did not exhibit any effect of tutoring on pCaMKII levels in that portion of the basal ganglia that corresponds to Area X in males. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that Area X participates in encoding and/or attaching reward value to a representation of tutor song that is accessed later to guide motor learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tryambak D Singh
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, 106 Meliora Hall, University of Rochester, River Campus, Rochester, New York 14627, USA
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29
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Wade J, Peabody C, Coussens P, Tempelman RJ, Clayton DF, Liu L, Arnold AP, Agate R. A cDNA microarray from the telencephalon of juvenile male and female zebra finches. J Neurosci Methods 2004; 138:199-206. [PMID: 15325128 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2004.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2003] [Revised: 03/31/2004] [Accepted: 04/01/2004] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Studies over roughly the last decade have emphasized the importance of gene expression in the development of structure and function of the songbird forebrain. However, few tools have been available to efficiently identify the critical factors. To that end, we have produced a normalized cDNA library from juvenile zebra finch telencephalon, and have spotted inserts from 2400 randomly selected cDNA clones on microarrays (1664 unique sequences). We have also added several previously cloned cDNAs of interest, including three representing genes encoded on sex chromosomes. Hybridizations comparing Cy3- and Cy5-labeled cDNA from the telencephalon of day 25 male and female zebra finches confirmed sexually dimorphic expression of the Z- and W-linked genes, demonstrating the utility of these microarrays for detecting differential expression and providing information about the relative expression of these genes in the brains of juveniles of this age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juli Wade
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 108 Giltner Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
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Appeltants D, Ball GF, Balthazart J. Catecholaminergic inputs to aromatase cells in the canary auditory forebrain. Neuroreport 2004; 15:1727-30. [PMID: 15257136 DOI: 10.1097/01.wnr.0000135920.75925.1e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The caudomedial nidopallium in songbirds is a specialized forebrain auditory region involved in the processing of species-typical vocalizations. It receives a prominent catecholaminergic projection with many fibers forming basket-like structures around non-immunoreactive cells. We investigated in male canaries the anatomical relationship between tyrosine hydroxylase and cells immunoreactive for the steroid metabolizing enzyme, aromatase, in the caudomedial nidopallium using double-label immunocytochemistry. Fibers immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase established numerous close contacts with aromatase-immunoreactive cells and often encircled these cells to form basket-like structures. Aromatase containing cells in the caudomedial nidopallium are therefore a major target of catecholaminergic inputs in canary. Interactions between catecholaminergic systems and aromatase in the caudomedial nidopallium may provide one mechanism for the regulation of estrogens involved in song perception and memorization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Didier Appeltants
- University of Liège, Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, Research Group in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, 17 place Delcour, B-4020 Liège, Belgium
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Abstract
Vocal learning is a rare trait. Humans depend on vocal learning to acquire spoken language, but most species that communicate acoustically have an innate repertoire of sounds that they use for information exchange. Among the few non-human species that also rely on vocal learning, songbirds have provided by far the most information for understanding this process. This article concentrates on the genetic components of vocal learning in humans and birds. We summarize the existing evidence for a genetic predisposition towards acquiring the species-specific human and avian vocal repertoires. We describe the approaches used for finding genes involved in shaping the neural circuitry required for vocal learning or in mediating the learning process itself. Special attention is given to a particular gene, FOXP2, which has been implicated in a human speech and language disorder. We have studied FoxP2 in avian vocal learners and non-learners and review evidence that links both the molecule and its close homologue FoxP1 to the development of brain regions implicated in vocal learning and to their function. FoxP2 has a characteristic expression pattern in a brain structure uniquely associated with learned vocal communication, Area X in songbirds, or its analogue in parrots and hummingbirds. In both avian song learners and non-learners FoxP2 expression predominates in sensory and sensory-motor circuits. These latter regions also express FoxP2 in mammals and reptiles. We conclude that FoxP2 is important for the building and function of brain pathways including, but not limited to, those essential for learned vocal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constance Scharff
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 73, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
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Abstract
The biology of songbirds poses fundamental questions about the interplay between gene, brain, and behavior. New tools of genomic analysis will be invaluable in pursuing answers to these questions. This review begins with a summary of the broad properties of the songbird genome and how songbird brain gene expression has been measured in past studies. Four key problems in songbird biology are then considered from a genomics perspective: What role does differential gene expression play in the development, maintenance, and functional organization of the song control circuit? Does gene regulation set boundaries on the process of juvenile song learning? What is the purpose of song-induced gene activity in the adult brain? How does the genome underlie the profound sexual differentiation of the song control circuit? Finally, the range of genomic technologies currently or soon to be available to songbird researchers is briefly reviewed. These technologies include online databases of expressed genes ("expressed sequence tags" or ESTs); a complete library of the zebra finch genome maintained as a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library; DNA microarrays for simultaneous measurement of many genes in a single experiment; and techniques for gene manipulation in the organism. Collectively, these questions and techniques define the field of songbird neurogenomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- David F Clayton
- Cell & Structural Biology, Neuroscience and Bioengineering, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
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Chubb AL. Nuclear corroboration of DNA-DNA hybridization in deep phylogenies of hummingbirds, swifts, and passerines: the phylogenetic utility of ZENK (ii). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2004; 30:128-39. [PMID: 15022764 DOI: 10.1016/s1055-7903(03)00160-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
This paper documents the phylogenetic utility of ZENK at the avian intra-ordinal level using hummingbirds, swifts, and passerines as case studies. ZENK sequences (1.7 kb) were used to reconstruct separate gene trees containing the major lineages of each group, and the three trees were examined for congruence with existing DNA-DNA hybridization trees. The results indicate both that ZENK is an appropriate nuclear marker for resolving relationships deep in the avian tree, and that many relationships within these three particular groups are congruent among the different datasets. Specifically, within hummingbirds there was topological agreement that the major hummingbird lineages diverged in a graded manner from the "hermits," to the "mangoes," to the "coquettes," to the "emeralds," and finally to a sister relationship between the "mountain-gems" and the "bees." Concerning swifts, the deepest divergences were congruent: treeswifts (Hemiprocnidae) were sister to the typical swifts (Apodidae), and the subfamily Apodinae was monophyletic relative to Cypseloidinae. Within Apodinae, however, were short, unresolved branches among the swiftlets, spinetails, and more typical swifts; a finding which coincides with other datasets. Within passerine birds, there was congruent support for monophyly of sub-oscines and oscines, and within sub-oscines, for monophyly of New World groups relative to the Old World lineages. New World sub-oscines split into superfamilies Furnaroidea and Tyrannoidea, with the Tyrannoid relationships completely congruent among ZENK and DNA-DNA hybridization trees. Within Furnaroidea, however, there was some incongruence regarding the positions of Thamnophilidae and Formicariidae. Concerning oscine passerines, both datasets showed a split between Corvida and Passerida and confirmed the traditional membership of passerid superfamilies Muscicapoidea and Passeroidea. Monophyly of Sylvioidea, however, remained uncertain, as did the relationships among the superfamiles themselves. These results are strikingly similar to other recent findings and indicative of continuing uncertainty about the higher level relationships of oscine passerines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison L Chubb
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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Chubb AL. New nuclear evidence for the oldest divergence among neognath birds: the phylogenetic utility of ZENK (i). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2004; 30:140-51. [PMID: 15022765 DOI: 10.1016/s1055-7903(03)00159-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
To date, there is little consensus concerning the phylogenetic relationships among neognath orders, which include all extant birds except ratites and tinamous. Different data sets, both molecular and morphologic, have yielded radically different and often unresolved ordinal topologies, especially within the neoaves clade. This lack of resolution and ongoing conflict indicates a need for additional phylogenetic characters to be applied to the question of higher-level avian phylogeny. In this study, sequences of a single-copy nuclear gene, ZENK, were used to reconstruct an ordinal-level phylogeny of neognath birds. Strong support was indicated for the oldest divergence within Neognathae; the chicken- and duck-like birds formed a clade that was sister to all other modern birds. In addition, many families of traditional taxonomic orders clustered together in the ZENK tree, indicating the gene's general phylogenetic reliability. However, within the neoaves clade, there was little support for relationships among orders, which is a result similar to all other recent molecular studies of higher-level avian phylogeny. This similarity among studies suggests the possibility of a rapid radiation of the major neoaves lineages. Despite the ongoing lack of neoaves resolution, ZENK's sequence divergence and base composition patterns indicate its general utility as a new phylogenetic marker for higher-level avian systematics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison L Chubb
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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35
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Scott LL, Singh TD, Nordeen EJ, Nordeen KW. Developmental patterns of NMDAR expression within the song system do not recur during adult vocal plasticity in zebra finches. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2004; 58:442-54. [PMID: 14978722 DOI: 10.1002/neu.10300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
All songbirds learn to sing during postnatal development but then display species differences in the capacity to learn song in adulthood. While the mechanisms that regulate avian vocal plasticity are not well characterized, one contributing factor may be the composition of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR). Previous studies of an anterior forebrain pathway implicated in vocal plasticity revealed significant regulation of NMDAR subunit expression during the developmental sensitive period for song learning. Much less is known about the developmental regulation of NMDAR subunit expression in regions that participate more directly in motor aspects of song behavior. We show here that an increase in NR2A subunit mRNA and a decrease in NR2B subunit mRNA within the vocal motor pathway accompany song learning in zebra finches; however, manipulations that can alter the timing of song learning did not alter the course of these developmental changes. We also tested whether adult deafening, a treatment that provokes vocal change in songbirds that normally sing a stable song throughout adulthood, would render NMDAR subunit expression more similar to that observed developmentally. We report that NR2A and NR2B mRNA levels did not change within the anterior forebrain or vocal motor pathways after adult deafening, even after substantial changes in song structure. These results indicate that vocal plasticity does not require "juvenile patterns" of NMDAR gene expression in the avian song system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luisa L Scott
- Neuroscience Program, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642, USA.
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Whitney O, Soderstrom K, Johnson F. CB1 cannabinoid receptor activation inhibits a neural correlate of song recognition in an auditory/perceptual region of the zebra finch telencephalon. JOURNAL OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2003; 56:266-74. [PMID: 12884265 PMCID: PMC4264579 DOI: 10.1002/neu.10233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
A notable consequence of CB1 cannabinoid receptor activation in vertebrates is an impairment of cognitive function related to learning and short-term memory. The mechanisms of this impairment remain unclear, but one possibility is that cannabinoids influence encoding of stimuli at sensory and/or perceptual levels. Here, by treating zebra finches with the cannabinoid agonist WIN55212-2 and then measuring expression of the transcription factor zenk following presentation of novel zebra finch song, we show that cannabinoid receptor activation differentially influences zenk expression in sensory versus perceptual regions of the songbird auditory telencephalon. That is, WIN55212-2 dose-dependently inhibited zenk expression in a region for auditory perception (NCM, the caudomedial neostriatum), but had no effect on zenk expression in the primary auditory area, the Field L complex. The inhibitory effects of WIN55212-2 on zenk expression in NCM were reversed by coadministration of the CB1-selective antagonist SR141716A. Moreover, we found that the habituation of the NCM zenk response to repeated presentation of the same song, a well-established neural correlate of song recognition, was blocked when birds were treated with WIN55212-2 during habituation trials. Our data suggest that activation of CB1 cannabinoid receptors can selectively influence perceptual and mnemonic aspects of auditory experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Osceola Whitney
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-1270, USA.
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37
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Appeltants D, Del Negro C, Balthazart J. Noradrenergic control of auditory information processing in female canaries. Behav Brain Res 2002; 133:221-35. [PMID: 12110456 DOI: 10.1016/s0166-4328(02)00005-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
An ethological procedure, based on the study of the sexual responsiveness of female canaries (Serinus canaria) to song playbacks was used to investigate the function of central noradrenergic inputs in the processing of auditory information. The effects of a noradrenergic denervation on sexual responses was analyzed in females exposed to playbacks of biological relevant auditory stimuli, i.e. sexually stimulating songs, presented alone or masked by auditory distractors. A decrease in behavioral responsiveness was observed as a function of the amount of masking distractors indicating that female canaries have the perceptual ability to discriminate and selectively attend to biologically relevant songs. After the systemic administration of DSP-4, a specific noradrenergic neurotoxin, females exhibited an overall decrease in sexual responsiveness to songs masked or not by distractors. No effect of DSP-4 were detected on the motor activity nor on reproductive behaviors. These results indicate that central noradrenergic inputs modulate the sexual behavior of female canaries by affecting the auditory processing of relevant information contained in sexually stimulating songs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Didier Appeltants
- Research Group in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Liège, 17 place Delcour (Bat. L1), Belgium
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Bailey DJ, Rosebush JC, Wade J. The hippocampus and caudomedial neostriatum show selective responsiveness to conspecific song in the female zebra finch. JOURNAL OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2002; 52:43-51. [PMID: 12115892 DOI: 10.1002/neu.10070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The perception of song is vital to the reproductive success of both male and female songbirds. Several neural structures underlying this perception have been identified by examining expression of immediate early genes (IEGs) following the presentation of conspecific or heterospecific song. In the few avian species investigated, areas outside of the circuit for song production contain neurons that are active following song presentation, specifically the caudal hyperstriatum ventrale (cHV) and caudomedial neostriatum (NCM). While studied in detail in the male zebra finch, IEG responses in these neural substrates involved in song perception have not been quantified in females. Therefore, adult female zebra finches were presented with zebra finch song, nonzebra finch song, randomly generated tones, or silence for 30 min. One hour later they were sacrificed, and their brains removed, sectioned, and immunocytochemically processed for FOS expression. Animals exposed to zebra finch song had a significantly higher density of FOS-immunoreactive cells in the NCM than those presented with other songs, tones, or silence. Neuronal activation in the cHV was equivalent in birds that heard zebra finch and non-zebra finch song, expression that was higher than that observed in the groups that heard no song. Interestingly, the hippocampus (HP) and adjacent parahippocampal area (AHP) were activated in a manner comparable to the NCM. These results suggest a general role for the cHV in song perception and a more specific role for the NCM and HP/AHP in facilitating recognition of and responsiveness to species-specific song in female zebra finches.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Bailey
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 235 Psychology Research Building, East Lansing 48824, USA.
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Chapter IV Immediate-early gene (IEG) expression mapping of vocal communication areas in the avian brain. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2002. [DOI: 10.1016/s0924-8196(02)80015-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
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40
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Hauber ME, Sherman PW. Self-referent phenotype matching: theoretical considerations and empirical evidence. Trends Neurosci 2001; 24:609-16. [PMID: 11576676 DOI: 10.1016/s0166-2236(00)01916-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 221] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In most birds and mammals, young are raised in family groups. The phenotypes of nestmates and parents are thus reliable cues for recognition of conspecifics and kin. However, in some species, young develop alone, or in broods of mixed relatedness (e.g. because of multiple paternity or maternity), or among heterospecifics or unrelated conspecifics (brood parasites). Under these circumstances, the best referent (model) for discriminating close from distant kin and heterospecifics from conspecifics might be one's own self. This recognition process is known as self-referent phenotype matching. Here we review recent experimental evidence of self-referencing and suggest that behavioral neuroscience can provide new tools and insights into how it works (its proximate mechanistic and ontogenetic bases) and why it exists (its adaptive significance).
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Affiliation(s)
- M E Hauber
- Department Neurobiology and Behavior, Seeley G. Mudd Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-2702, USA.
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41
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Thompson BE, Freking F, Pho V, Schlinger BA, Cherry JA. Cyclic AMP phosphodiesterases in the zebra finch: distribution, cloning and characterization of a PDE4B homolog. BRAIN RESEARCH. MOLECULAR BRAIN RESEARCH 2000; 83:94-106. [PMID: 11072099 DOI: 10.1016/s0169-328x(00)00201-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Songbirds are important animal models for studying neural mechanisms underlying learning and memory. While evidence has emerged that cAMP plays a significant role in invertebrate and mammalian learning, little is known about the role of cAMP pathways in regulating neuronal function in birds. With the goal of identifying important components of this pathway, we report the first cloning of a cAMP-specific, Type IV phosphodiesterase (PDE4) in a non-mammalian vertebrate. A combination of PCR analysis and cDNA library screening was used to show that homologs of the four known mammalian PDE4 genes also exist in zebra finch. A full-length cDNA representing the zebra finch homolog of PDE4B1 was isolated from a telencephalic library. Expression of this cDNA in human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK) cells yielded an enzyme that hydrolyzed cAMP with a low K(m) and was inhibited by micromolar concentrations of rolipram; these properties are typical of all known mammalian PDE4s. In brain, northern blots revealed transcripts of 3.6 and 4.4 kb in adults, but only the 3.6 kb transcript in juveniles, suggesting that PDE4 expression is developmentally regulated. In situ hybridization of tissue sections demonstrated that PDE4 message was distributed widely throughout the adult zebra finch brain, including regions controlling the learning of songs and the acquisition of spatial memories. These data suggest that PDE4 enzymes may influence a variety of brain functions in these birds and play a role in learning.
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MESH Headings
- 3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases/analysis
- 3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases/genetics
- 3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases/metabolism
- Animals
- Blotting, Northern
- Blotting, Southern
- Brain/enzymology
- Cell Line
- Cloning, Molecular
- Cyclic AMP/metabolism
- Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases, Type 4
- DNA, Complementary
- Female
- Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic
- Gene Library
- Humans
- In Situ Hybridization
- Kidney/cytology
- Male
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Protein Biosynthesis
- RNA, Messenger/analysis
- Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
- Songbirds
- Transcription, Genetic
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Affiliation(s)
- B E Thompson
- Department of Psychology and Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology and Behavior, Boston University, 64 Cummington Street, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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Kruse AA, Stripling R, Clayton DF. Minimal experience required for immediate-early gene induction in zebra finch neostriatum. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2000; 74:179-84. [PMID: 11031126 DOI: 10.1006/nlme.2000.3968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
We show that a single presentation of a zebra finch song, 2 s in duration, will induce an "immediate-early gene" response in the caudomedial neostriatum of zebra finches (Poephila guttata). Repetition of this stimulus 10 times is sufficient to induce a maximal increase in RNA and protein, detected 30 and 90 min later respectively. Thus very brief stimuli can set in motion a slow genomic process in the brain which takes hours to resolve. Immediate-early gene function is often considered in the context of a "feedback" model (i.e., to consolidate memories of the inducing event). However, based on the long lag observed here between initiation and full expression of the molecular response, we suggest an alternative, ethologically based, "feed-forward" model in which exposure to a novel or significant context triggers an increase in the efficiency of memory capture processes for subsequent experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- A A Kruse
- Neuroscience Program, Beckman Institute and Department of Cell and Structural Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
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43
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Abstract
Neurons compute in part by integrating, on a time scale of milliseconds, many synaptic inputs and generating a digital output-the "action potential" of classic electrophysiology. Recent discoveries indicate that neurons also perform a second, much slower, integration operating on a time scale of minutes or even hours. The output of this slower integration involves a pulse of gene expression which may be likened to the electrophysiological action potential. Its function, however, is not directed toward immediate transmission of a synaptic signal but rather toward the experience-dependent modification of the underlying synaptic circuitry. Commonly termed the "immediate early gene" (IEG) response, this phenomenon is often assumed to be a necessary component of a linear, deterministic cascade of memory consolidation. Critical review of the large literature describing the phenomenon, however, leads to an alternative model of IEG function in the brain. In this alternative, IEG activation is not directed at the consolidation of memories of a specific inducing event; instead, it sets the overall gain or efficiency of memory formation and directs it to circuits engaged by behaviorally significant contexts. The net result is a sharpening of the selectivity of memory formation, a recruitment of temporally correlated associations, and an ultimate enhancement of long-term memory retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- D F Clayton
- Beckman Institute Neuronal Pattern Analysis Group, Department of Cell & Structural Biology and Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA.
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Bertaina-Anglade V, Tramu G, Destrade C. Differential learning-stage dependent patterns of c-Fos protein expression in brain regions during the acquisition and memory consolidation of an operant task in mice. Eur J Neurosci 2000; 12:3803-12. [PMID: 11029651 DOI: 10.1046/j.1460-9568.2000.00258.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The present study analysed the effects of the stage of learning of an appetitive operant conditioning task on the spatial and temporal patterns of c-Fos protein levels in the brain of BALB/c mice. c-Fos levels were assessed by immunohistochemistry at either 60, 120 or 180 min after either the first, the second or the fifth daily training session and compared to sham animals. The results show an increase of c-Fos-positive nuclei in several subcortical and cortical brain regions, 60-min post-acquisition. Because these activations were a function of task mastery, the data indicate that they were specifically related to learning. Following the first acquisition session, significant increases in c-Fos-positive neurons were observed in the dorsal hippocampus (CA3), anterior cingulate, occipital and parietal cortices. Following the second daily training session, c-Fos was highly expressed in some subcortical regions, the hippocampus, the subiculum, the entorhinal, and posterior cingulate areas. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between the progression of performance from day 1 to day 2 and c-Fos expression on the hippocampal CA1 subfield. Following complete acquisition, no further task-dependent increases in c-Fos-labelled nuclei was observed in any brain region sampled, suggesting that the intervention of c-Fos-induced mechanisms in the consolidation process were terminated. The training stage-dependent changes in regional post-training c-Fos expression in the hippocampus and the connected limbic regions suggest that this neuronal network is actively engaged in memory consolidation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Bertaina-Anglade
- Neurosciences Cognitives, CNRS UMR 5106, Université Bordeaux I, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence, France
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45
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Saldanha CJ, Schultz JD, London SE, Schlinger BA. Telencephalic aromatase but not a song circuit in a sub-oscine passerine, the golden collared manakin (Manacus vitellinus). BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2000; 56:29-37. [PMID: 11025342 DOI: 10.1159/000006675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In oscine passerines, the telencephalon expresses high levels of the estrogen synthetic enzyme aromatase. In contrast, forebrain aromatase is limited to low levels at discrete limbic loci in non-passerines. The function of forebrain aromatase in oscines is unknown, however, estrogen-sensitive elements of the telencephalic song circuit (an oscine characteristic) may be influenced by local aromatization. Very few studies have investigated the neuroendocrine characteristics of sub-oscine passerines. Species of this passerine sub-order are taxonomically similar to oscines, but do not appear to learn how to sing as oscines, and show no evidence of a song circuit. The neural expression of aromatase in these birds is unknown. We asked whether the golden-collared manakin, a sub-oscine, (a) showed evidence of a song circuit, and (b) expressed aromatase in the telencephalon at high levels like the zebra finch (oscine passerine) or at low levels like the quail (non-passerine). Nissl stains and immunocytochemistry for microtubule associated proteins showed no evidence of a song circuit in manakins of either sex, whereas both techniques delineate all song nuclei in the zebra finch. However, biochemical and immunocytochemical measures reveal that in the manakin, several telencephalic loci, including the hippocampus, caudomedial neostriatum, nucleus taeniae, and the lateral neostriatum express aromatase. Assays run in parallel show low to undetectable levels of aromatase in the telencephalon of the quail (nonpasserine) and abundant levels in the zebra finch (oscine passerine), suggesting a dissociation between the presence of a song circuit and forebrain aromatase expression in this sub-oscine. These data suggest that forebrain aromatase may have evolved in sub-oscine songbirds before the evolution of a song circuit and singing behavior in oscines. Alternatively, forebrain aromatase may serve functions distinct from singing behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- C J Saldanha
- Department of Physiological Science, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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46
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Affiliation(s)
- P Marler
- Section of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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47
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Abstract
Auditory and vocal regulation of gene expression occurs in separate discrete regions of the songbird brain. Here we demonstrate that regulated gene expression also occurs during vocal communication in a parrot, belonging to an order whose ability to learn vocalizations is thought to have evolved independently of songbirds. Adult male budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) were stimulated to vocalize with playbacks of conspecific vocalizations (warbles), and their brains were analyzed for expression of the transcriptional regulator ZENK. The results showed that there was distinct separation of brain areas that had hearing- or vocalizing-induced ZENK expression. Hearing warbles resulted in ZENK induction in large parts of the caudal medial forebrain and in 1 midbrain region, with a pattern highly reminiscent of that observed in songbirds. Vocalizing resulted in ZENK induction in nine brain structures, seven restricted to the lateral and anterior telencephalon, one in the thalamus, and one in the midbrain, with a pattern partially reminiscent of that observed in songbirds. Five of the telencephalic structures had been previously described as part of the budgerigar vocal control pathway. However, functional boundaries defined by the gene expression patterns for some of these structures were much larger and different in shape than previously reported anatomical boundaries. Our results provide the first functional demonstration of brain areas involved in vocalizing and auditory processing of conspecific sounds in budgerigars. They also indicate that, whether or not vocal learning evolved independently, some of the gene regulatory mechanisms that accompany learned vocal communication are similar in songbirds and parrots.
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Affiliation(s)
- E D Jarvis
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
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48
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Bolhuis JJ, Zijlstra GG, den Boer-Visser AM, Van Der Zee EA. Localized neuronal activation in the zebra finch brain is related to the strength of song learning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2000; 97:2282-5. [PMID: 10681421 PMCID: PMC15792 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.030539097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 207] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Songbirds (Oscines) learn their songs from a tutor. It is not known where in the brain the memories of these learned sounds are stored. Recent evidence suggests that song perception in songbirds involves neuronal activation in brain regions that have not traditionally been implicated in the control of song production or song learning, notably the caudal part of the neostriatum (NCM) and of the hyperstriatum ventrale. Zebra finch males (Taeniopygia guttata castanotis) were reared without their father and exposed to a tape-recorded song during the sensitive period for song learning. When, as adults, they were reexposed to the tutor song, the males showed increased expression of the protein products of the immediate early genes egr-1 (ZENK) and c-fos in the NCM and caudal hyperstriatum ventrale, but not in the conventional "song-control nuclei." The strength of the immediate early gene response (which is a reflection of neuronal activation) in the NCM correlated significantly and positively with the number of song elements that the birds had copied from the tutor song. These results show localized neural activation in response to tutor song exposure that correlates with the strength of song learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- J J Bolhuis
- Behavioral Biology and Evolutionary Morphology, Institute of Evolutionary Sciences, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
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49
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Abstract
Sensory experience during sensitive periods in development may direct the organization of neural substrates, thereby permanently influencing subsequent adult behavior. We report a sensitive period during the imitative motor learning phase of sensorimotor integration in birdsong development. By temporarily and reversibly blocking efference to the vocal muscles, we disrupted vocal motor practice during selected stages of song development. Motor disruption during prolonged periods early in development, which allows recovery of vocal control prior to the onset of adult song, has no effect on adult song production. However, song disruption late in development, during the emergence of adult song, results in permanent motor defects in adult song production. These results reveal a decreased ability to compensate for interference with motor function when disturbances occur during the terminal stage of vocal motor development. Temporary disruption of syringeal motor control in adults does not produce permanent changes in song production. Permanent vocal aberrations in juveniles are evident exclusively in learned song elements rather than nonlearned calls, suggesting that the sensitive period is associated with motor learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- C L Pytte
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA
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50
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Scharff C, Kirn JR, Grossman M, Macklis JD, Nottebohm F. Targeted neuronal death affects neuronal replacement and vocal behavior in adult songbirds. Neuron 2000; 25:481-92. [PMID: 10719901 DOI: 10.1016/s0896-6273(00)80910-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 243] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In the high vocal center (HVC) of adult songbirds, increases in spontaneous neuronal replacement correlate with song changes and with cell death. We experimentally induced death of specific HVC neuron types in adult male zebra finches using targeted photolysis. Induced death of a projection neuron type that normally turns over resulted in compensatory replacement of the same type. Induced death of the normally nonreplaced type did not stimulate their replacement. In juveniles, death of the latter type increased recruitment of the replaceable kind. We infer that neuronal death regulates the recruitment of replaceable neurons. Song deteriorated in some birds only after elimination of replaceable neurons. Behavioral deficits were transient and followed by variable degrees of recovery. This raises the possibility that induced neuronal replacement can restore a learned behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Scharff
- Department of Animal Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, USA.
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