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Zhou X, Fu X, Lin C, Zhou X, Liu J, Wang L, Zhang X, Zuo M, Fan X, Li D, Sun Y. Remodeling of Dendritic Spines in the Avian Vocal Motor Cortex Following Deafening Depends on the Basal Ganglia Circuit. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:2820-2830. [PMID: 27166173 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Deafening elicits a deterioration of learned vocalization, in both humans and songbirds. In songbirds, learned vocal plasticity has been shown to depend on the basal ganglia-cortical circuit, but the underlying cellular basis remains to be clarified. Using confocal imaging and electron microscopy, we examined the effect of deafening on dendritic spines in avian vocal motor cortex, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA), and investigated the role of the basal ganglia circuit in motor cortex plasticity. We found rapid structural changes to RA dendritic spines in response to hearing loss, accompanied by learned song degradation. In particular, the morphological characters of RA spine synaptic contacts between 2 major pathways were altered differently. However, experimental disruption of the basal ganglia circuit, through lesions in song-specialized basal ganglia nucleus Area X, largely prevented both the observed changes to RA dendritic spines and the song deterioration after hearing loss. Our results provide cellular evidence to highlight a key role of the basal ganglia circuit in the motor cortical plasticity that underlies learned vocal plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, Laboratory of Neuroscience and Brain Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xin Fu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, Laboratory of Neuroscience and Brain Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Chun Lin
- Department of Biology, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
| | - Xiaojuan Zhou
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, Laboratory of Neuroscience and Brain Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Jin Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, Laboratory of Neuroscience and Brain Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Li Wang
- Center for Biological Imaging (CBI), Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Xinwen Zhang
- Department of Biology, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
| | - Mingxue Zuo
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, Laboratory of Neuroscience and Brain Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xiaolong Fan
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, Laboratory of Neuroscience and Brain Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Dapeng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Yingyu Sun
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Gene Resource and Molecular Development, Laboratory of Neuroscience and Brain Development, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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The gain modulation by N-methyl-D-aspartate in the projection neurons of robust nucleus of the arcopallium in adult zebra finches. Neural Plast 2012; 2012:931780. [PMID: 22685680 PMCID: PMC3363989 DOI: 10.1155/2012/931780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2011] [Revised: 03/06/2012] [Accepted: 03/06/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The song of zebra finch is stable in life after it was learned successfully. Vocal plasticity is thought to be a motor exploration that can support continuous learning and optimization of performance. The activity of RA, an important pre-motor nucleus in songbird's brain, influences the song directly. This variability in adult birdsong is associated with the activity of NMDA receptors in LMAN-RA synapses, but the detailed mechanism is unclear. The control of gain refers to modulation of a neuron's responsiveness to input and is critically important for normal sensory, cognitive, and motor functions. Here, we observed the change of gain in RA projection neurons after exogenous NMDA was applied to activate NMDA receptors using the whole-cell current clamp recording. We found that NMDA substantially increased the slope (gain) of the firing rate-current relationship in RA projection neurons. The AMPA receptor-dependent excitability played a crucial role in the modulation of gain by NMDA. These results suggested that NMDA receptors may regulate the dynamics of RA projection neurons by input-output gain.
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Peng Z, Zeng S, Liu Y, Dong Y, Zhang H, Zhang X, Zuo M. Comparative study on song behavior, and ultra-structural, electrophysiological and immunoreactive properties in RA among deafened, untutored and normal-hearing Bengalese finches. Brain Res 2012; 1458:40-55. [PMID: 22552113 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2011] [Revised: 03/27/2012] [Accepted: 04/06/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
To gain additional insight into how a birdsong is learned, we compared the songs of Bengalese finch males that were deafened early in development or raised without tutors to control finches that learned songs from adult models. Fewer note types and a more variable number of notes per bout were observed in untutored male songs, and no audible songs were detected in deafened males. We then investigated the ultrastructural, immunohistological, and electrophysiological correlates of the outcomes of song learning within the robust nucleus of the archopallium (RA), a forebrain nucleus for song production. In comparison to control birds, untutored and deafened birds had more synapses per unit volume, fewer vesicles per synapse, longer postsynaptic densities, and a lower proportion of perforated synapses, which suggest lower activity or decreased efficiency of synaptic transmission within the RA of the treated birds. For anesthetized birds, neurons within the RA of untutored and deafened males had lower spontaneous firing rates, fewer and shorter bursts, and higher coefficient of variation of the instantaneous firing rate than the normally reared males. Compared with controls, the untutored and deafened males had higher staining intensities within the RA of GABA and the GABA(A) receptor, less staining of tyrosine hydroxylase and no difference in the staining of NMDA receptors. Thus, both the ultrastructural and immunohistochemical results could explain for the stronger electrophysiological activities in normally reared birds. Because RA is involved in generating the motor commands, these data might account for the deficits in birds with abnormal song learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Peng
- Beijing Key Lab of Gene Engineering Drugs & Biological Technology, Beijing Normal University, China
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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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Kirn JR. The relationship of neurogenesis and growth of brain regions to song learning. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2010; 115:29-44. [PMID: 19853905 PMCID: PMC2888937 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2009.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2009] [Revised: 09/25/2009] [Accepted: 09/25/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Song learning, maintenance and production require coordinated activity across multiple auditory, sensory-motor, and neuromuscular structures. Telencephalic components of the sensory-motor circuitry are unique to avian species that engage in song learning. The song system shows protracted development that begins prior to hatching but continues well into adulthood. The staggered developmental timetable for construction of the song system provides clues of subsystems involved in specific stages of song learning and maintenance. Progressive events, including neurogenesis and song system growth, as well as regressive events such as apoptosis and synapse elimination, occur during periods of song learning and the transitions between variable and stereotyped song during both development and adulthood. There is clear evidence that gonadal steroids influence the development of song attributes and shape the underlying neural circuitry. Some aspects of song system development are influenced by sensory, motor and social experience, while other aspects of neural development appear to be experience-independent. Although there are species differences in the extent to which song learning continues into adulthood, growing evidence suggests that despite differences in learning trajectories, adult refinement of song motor control and song maintenance can require remarkable behavioral and neural flexibility reminiscent of sensory-motor learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Kirn
- Biology Department, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459, United States.
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Wang J, Hessler NA. Coordination of presynaptic and postsynaptic maturation in a zebra finch forebrain motor control nucleus during song learning. Eur J Neurosci 2007; 24:2859-69. [PMID: 17156210 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.05173.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
While some species of birds retain the ability to learn new songs as adults, many species can only learn during a restricted period when young. Previous studies have suggested that one potential mechanism of such a limited learning period, an alteration in the composition of postsynaptic NMDA receptors, does not competely block further song learning. Here, we examined whether presynaptic function could play a role in the regulation of learning capacity. We first showed that the participation of NMDA receptor NR2B subunits in synaptic currents in the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA), a critical location for integration of signals during song learning by young birds, decreases from young birds to adults. Using release-dependent block of postsynaptic NMDA receptors by an open-channel antagonist to assay presynaptic function, we showed that transmitter release at RA synapses from both HVC and the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium systematically decreases during the period of song learning, and in adults is about half that of juveniles. Further, activation of postsynaptic NMDA receptors could induce an acute depression of transmitter release, while lack of exposure to a normal learning environment could delay the developmental reduction in transmitter release. These results suggest that regulation of learning capacity may occur in part by coordination of presynaptic and postsynaptic function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Wang
- Laboratory for Vocal Behaviour Mechanisms, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
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Scott LL, Nordeen EJ, Nordeen KW. LMAN lesions prevent song degradation after deafening without reducing HVC neuron addition. Dev Neurobiol 2007; 67:1407-18. [PMID: 17694506 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.20508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
In some songbirds perturbing auditory feedback can promote changes in song structure well beyond the end of song learning. One factor that may drive vocal change in such deafened birds is the ongoing addition of new vocal-motor neurons into the song system. Without auditory feedback to guide their incorporation, the addition of these new neurons could disrupt the established song pattern. To assess this hypothesis, the authors determined if neuronal recruitment into the vocal motor nucleus HVC is affected by neural signals that influence vocal change in adult deafened birds. Such signals appear to be conveyed via LMAN, a nucleus in the anterior forebrain that is necessary for vocal change after deafening. Here the authors tested whether LMAN lesions might restrict song degradation after deafening by reducing the addition or survival of new HVC neurons that would otherwise corrupt the ongoing song pattern. Using [3H]thymidine autoradiography to identify neurons generated in adult zebra finches, it was shown here that LMAN lesions do not reduce the number or percent of new HVC neurons surviving for either several weeks or months after [3H]thymidine labeling. However, the authors confirmed previous reports that LMAN lesions restrict vocal change after deafening. These data suggest that neurons incorporated into the adult HVC may form behaviorally adaptive connections without requiring auditory feedback, and that any role such neurons may play in promoting vocal change after adult deafening requires anterior forebrain pathway output.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luisa L Scott
- Neuroscience Program, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14642, USA.
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Bailey DJ, Wade J. Sexual dimorphism in song-induced ZENK expression in the medial striatum of juvenile zebra finches. Neurosci Lett 2006; 401:86-91. [PMID: 16563620 PMCID: PMC2879035 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2006.02.076] [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] [Received: 01/27/2006] [Revised: 02/21/2006] [Accepted: 02/24/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
In the brains of male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), the nuclei that direct song learning and production are larger than the corresponding regions in females, who do not sing. The dimorphism in Area X of the medial striatum (MSt), an area important for song learning, is even more dramatic in that it is identifiable in males but not females by Nissl stain. In the present study, conspecific song, but not other auditory stimuli, induced expression of the immediate early gene ZENK in the MSt surrounding but not within Area X in juvenile males (30 and 45 days post-hatch). ZENK immunoreactivity following conspecific songs was homogeneous throughout the MSt of females at the same ages. Little to no FOS immunoreactivity was observed in Area X or the rest of the MSt, and levels were not influenced by the type of auditory stimulus presented. Thus, the clear morphological difference in the lateral MSt (Area X) of males and females is mirrored by a specific functional one, and the data suggest a role for ZENK expression in the MSt outside of Area X in responding to relevant song stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Bailey
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, MI, USA.
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Nordeen KW, Nordeen EJ. Synaptic and Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Plasticity during Early Learning. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2004; 1016:416-37. [PMID: 15313788 DOI: 10.1196/annals.1298.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Many behaviors are learned most easily during a discrete developmental period, and it is generally agreed that these "sensitive periods" for learning reflect the developmental regulation of molecular or synaptic properties that underlie experience-dependent changes in neural organization and function. Avian song learning provides one example of such temporally restricted learning, and several features of this behavior and its underlying neural circuitry make it a powerful model for studying how early experience sculpts neural and behavioral organization. Here we describe evidence that within the basal ganglia-thalamocortical loop implicated in vocal learning, song acquisition engages N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), as well as signal transduction cascades strongly implicated in other instances of learning. Furthermore, NMDAR phenotype changes in parallel with developmental and seasonal periods for vocal plasticity. We also review recent studies in the avian song system that challenge the popular notion that sensitive periods for learning reflect developmental changes in the NMDAR that alter thresholds for synaptic plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy W Nordeen
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0268, USA.
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