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Kraft FLH, Crino OL, Adeniran-Obey SO, Moraney RA, Clayton DF, George JM, Buchanan KL. Parental developmental experience affects vocal learning in offspring. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13787. [PMID: 38877207 PMCID: PMC11178867 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64520-8] [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: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Cultural and genetic inheritance combine to enable rapid changes in trait expression, but their relative importance in determining trait expression across generations is not clear. Birdsong is a socially learned cognitive trait that is subject to both cultural and genetic inheritance, as well as being affected by early developmental conditions. We sought to test whether early-life conditions in one generation can affect song acquisition in the next generation. We exposed one generation (F1) of nestlings to elevated corticosterone (CORT) levels, allowed them to breed freely as adults, and quantified their son's (F2) ability to copy the song of their social father. We also quantified the neurogenetic response to song playback through immediate early gene (IEG) expression in the auditory forebrain. F2 males with only one corticosterone-treated parent copied their social father's song less accurately than males with two control parents. Expression of ARC in caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) correlated with father-son song similarity, and patterns of expression levels of several IEGs in caudomedial mesopallium (CMM) in response to father song playback differed between control F2 sons and those with a CORT-treated father only. This is the first study to demonstrate that developmental conditions can affect social learning and neurogenetic responses in a subsequent generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanny-Linn H Kraft
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Ondi L Crino
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia
| | | | - Raven A Moraney
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - David F Clayton
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - Julia M George
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - Katherine L Buchanan
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
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Lu C, Gudowska A, Rutkowska J. What do zebra finches learn besides singing? Systematic mapping of the literature and presentation of an efficient associative learning test. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:1489-1503. [PMID: 37300600 PMCID: PMC10442275 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01795-w] [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: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The process of learning in birds has been extensively studied, with a focus on species such as pigeons, parrots, chickens, and crows. In recent years, the zebra finch has emerged as a model species in avian cognition, particularly in song learning. However, other cognitive domains such as spatial memory and associative learning could also be critical to fitness and survival, particularly during the intensive juvenile period. In this systematic review, we provide an overview of cognitive studies on zebra finches, with a focus on domains other than song learning. Our findings indicate that spatial, associative, and social learning are the most frequently studied domains, while motoric learning and inhibitory control have been examined less frequently over 30 years of research. All of the 60 studies included in this review were conducted on captive birds, limiting the generalizability of the findings to wild populations. Moreover, only two of the studies were conducted on juveniles, highlighting the need for more research on this critical period of learning. To address this research gap, we propose a high-throughput method for testing associative learning performance in a large number of both juvenile and adult zebra finches. Our results demonstrate that learning can occur in both age groups, thus encouraging researchers to also perform cognitive tests on juveniles. We also note the heterogeneity of methodologies, protocols, and subject exclusion criteria applied by different researchers, which makes it difficult to compare results across studies. Therefore, we call for better communication among researchers to develop standardised methodologies for studying each cognitive domain at different life stages and also in their natural conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- ChuChu Lu
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Gudowska
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
| | - Joanna Rutkowska
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
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Lu C, Lefeuvre M, Rutkowska J. Variability in ambient temperature promotes juvenile participation and shorter latency in a learning test in zebra finches. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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Stenstrom K, Voss HU, Tokarev K, Phan ML, Hauber ME. The Direction of response selectivity between conspecific and heterospecific auditory stimuli varies with response metric. Behav Brain Res 2022; 416:113534. [PMID: 34416300 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Species recognition is an essential behavioral outcome of social discrimination, flocking, mobbing, mating, and/or parental care. In songbirds, auditory species recognition cues are processed through specialized forebrain circuits dedicated to acoustic discrimination. Here we addressed the direction of behavioral and neural metrics of zebra finches' (Taeniopygia guttata) responses to acoustic cues of unfamiliar conspecifics vs. heterospecifics. Behaviorally, vocal response rates were greater for conspecific male zebra finch songs over heterospecific Pin-tailed Whydah (Vidua macroura) songs, which paralleled greater multiunit spike rates in the auditory forebrain in response to the same type of conspecific over heterospecific auditory stimuli. In contrast, forebrain activation levels were reversed to species-specific song playbacks during two functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments: we detected consistently greater responses to whydah songs over finch songs and did so independently of whether subjects had been co-housed or not with heterospecifics. These results imply that the directionality of behavioral and neural response selectivity metrics are not always consistent and appear to be experience-independent in this set of stimulus-and-subject experimental paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Stenstrom
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Champaign, USA.
| | - H U Voss
- Cornell MRI Facility, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
| | - K Tokarev
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, USA
| | - M L Phan
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, USA
| | - M E Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Champaign, USA; Department of Psychology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, USA
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Slevin MC, Houtz JL, Bradshaw DJ, Anderson RC. Evidence supporting the microbiota-gut-brain axis in a songbird. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200430. [PMID: 33142087 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent research in mammals supports a link between cognitive ability and the gut microbiome, but little is known about this relationship in other taxa. In a captive population of 38 zebra finch(es) (Taeniopygia guttata), we quantified performance on cognitive tasks measuring learning and memory. We sampled the gut microbiome via cloacal swab and quantified bacterial alpha and beta diversity. Performance on cognitive tasks related to beta diversity but not alpha diversity. We then identified differentially abundant genera influential in the beta diversity differences among cognitive performance categories. Though correlational, this study provides some of the first evidence of an avian microbiota-gut-brain axis, building foundations for future microbiome research in wild populations and during host development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan C Slevin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL, USA
| | - Jennifer L Houtz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - David J Bradshaw
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, FL, USA
| | - Rindy C Anderson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Davie, FL, USA
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de Bournonville C, McGrath A, Remage-Healey L. Testosterone synthesis in the female songbird brain. Horm Behav 2020; 121:104716. [PMID: 32061616 PMCID: PMC7198340 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Decades of work have established the brain as a source of steroid hormones, termed 'neurosteroids'. The neurosteroid neuroestradiol is produced in discrete brain areas and influences cognition, sensory processing, reproduction, neurotransmission, and disease. A prevailing research focus on neuroestradiol has essentially ignored whether its immediate synthesis precursor - the androgen testosterone - is also dynamically regulated within the brain. Testosterone itself can rapidly influence neurophysiology and behavior, and there is indirect evidence that the female brain may synthesize significant quantities of testosterone to regulate cognition, reproduction, and behavior. In songbirds, acoustic communication is regulated by neuroestrogens. Neuroestrogens are rapidly synthetized in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) of the auditory cortex of zebra finches in response to song and can influence auditory processing and song discrimination. Here, we examined the in vivo dynamics of NCM levels of the neuroestrogen synthesis precursor, testosterone. Unlike estradiol, testosterone did not appear to fluctuate in the female NCM during song exposure. However, a substantial song-induced elevation of testosterone was revealed in the left hemisphere NCM of females when local aromatization (i.e., conversion to estrogens) was locally blocked. This elevation was eliminated when local androgen synthesis was concomitantly blocked. Further, no parallel elevation was observed in the circulation in response to song playback, consistent with a local, neural origin of testosterone synthesis. To our knowledge, this study provides the first direct demonstration that testosterone fluctuates rapidly in the brain in response to socially-relevant environmental stimuli. Our findings suggest therefore that locally-derived 'neuroandrogens' can dynamically influence brain function and behavior. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This study demonstrates that androgen synthesis occurs rapidly in vivo in the brain in response to social cues, in a lateralized manner. Specifically, testosterone synthesis occurs within the left secondary auditory cortex when female zebra finches hear male song. Therefore, testosterone could act as a neuromodulator to rapidly shape sensory processing. Androgens have been linked to functions such as the control of female libido, and many steroidal drugs used for contraception, anti-cancer treatments, and sexual dysfunction likely influence the brain synthesis and action of testosterone. The current findings therefore establish a clear role for androgen synthesis in the female brain with implications for understanding neural circuit function and behavior in animals, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine de Bournonville
- Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States of America.
| | - Aiden McGrath
- Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States of America
| | - Luke Remage-Healey
- Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States of America.
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