1
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Wall EM, Woolley SC. Social experiences shape song preference learning independently of developmental exposure to song. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240358. [PMID: 38835281 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0358] [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: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Communication governs the formation and maintenance of social relationships. The interpretation of communication signals depends not only on the signal's content but also on a receiver's individual experience. Experiences throughout life may interact to affect behavioural plasticity, such that a lack of developmental sensory exposure could constrain adult learning, while salient adult social experiences could remedy developmental deficits. We investigated how experiences impact the formation and direction of female auditory preferences in the zebra finch. Zebra finches form long-lasting pair bonds and females learn preferences for their mate's vocalizations. We found that after 2 weeks of cohabitation with a male, females formed pair bonds and learned to prefer their partner's song regardless of whether they were reared with ('normally reared') or without ('song-naive') developmental exposure to song. In contrast, females that heard but did not physically interact with a male did not prefer his song. In addition, previous work has found that song-naive females do not show species-typical preferences for courtship song. We found that cohabitation with a male ameliorated this difference in preference. Thus, courtship and pair bonding, but not acoustic-only interactions, strongly influence preference learning regardless of rearing experience, and may dynamically drive auditory plasticity for recognition and preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin M Wall
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H3A 1A1, Canada
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H3G 2A8, Canada
| | - Sarah C Woolley
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H3A 1A1, Canada
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H3G 2A8, Canada
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
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2
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Heim F, Scharff C, Fisher SE, Riebel K, Ten Cate C. Auditory discrimination learning and acoustic cue weighing in female zebra finches with localized FoxP1 knockdowns. J Neurophysiol 2024; 131:950-963. [PMID: 38629163 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00228.2023] [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: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Rare disruptions of the transcription factor FOXP1 are implicated in a human neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by autism and/or intellectual disability with prominent problems in speech and language abilities. Avian orthologues of this transcription factor are evolutionarily conserved and highly expressed in specific regions of songbird brains, including areas associated with vocal production learning and auditory perception. Here, we investigated possible contributions of FoxP1 to song discrimination and auditory perception in juvenile and adult female zebra finches. They received lentiviral knockdowns of FoxP1 in one of two brain areas involved in auditory stimulus processing, HVC (proper name) or CMM (caudomedial mesopallium). Ninety-six females, distributed over different experimental and control groups were trained to discriminate between two stimulus songs in an operant Go/Nogo paradigm and subsequently tested with an array of stimuli. This made it possible to assess how well they recognized and categorized altered versions of training stimuli and whether localized FoxP1 knockdowns affected the role of different features during discrimination and categorization of song. Although FoxP1 expression was significantly reduced by the knockdowns, neither discrimination of the stimulus songs nor categorization of songs modified in pitch, sequential order of syllables or by reversed playback were affected. Subsequently, we analyzed the full dataset to assess the impact of the different stimulus manipulations for cue weighing in song discrimination. Our findings show that zebra finches rely on multiple parameters for song discrimination, but with relatively more prominent roles for spectral parameters and syllable sequencing as cues for song discrimination.NEW & NOTEWORTHY In humans, mutations of the transcription factor FoxP1 are implicated in speech and language problems. In songbirds, FoxP1 has been linked to male song learning and female preference strength. We found that FoxP1 knockdowns in female HVC and caudomedial mesopallium (CMM) did not alter song discrimination or categorization based on spectral and temporal information. However, this large dataset allowed to validate different cue weights for spectral over temporal information for song recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Heim
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics,Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics,Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Katharina Riebel
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Carel Ten Cate
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
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3
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Alam D, Zia F, Roberts TF. The hidden fitness of the male zebra finch courtship song. Nature 2024; 628:117-121. [PMID: 38509376 PMCID: PMC11410162 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07207-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Vocal learning in songbirds is thought to have evolved through sexual selection, with female preference driving males to develop large and varied song repertoires1-3. However, many songbird species learn only a single song in their lifetime4. How sexual selection drives the evolution of single-song repertoires is not known. Here, by applying dimensionality-reduction techniques to the singing behaviour of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), we show that syllable spread in low-dimensional feature space explains how single songs function as honest indicators of fitness. We find that this Gestalt measure of behaviour captures the spectrotemporal distinctiveness of song syllables in zebra finches; that females strongly prefer songs that occupy more latent space; and that matching path lengths in low-dimensional space is difficult for young males. Our findings clarify how simple vocal repertoires may have evolved in songbirds and indicate divergent strategies for how sexual selection can shape vocal learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danyal Alam
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Fayha Zia
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Todd F Roberts
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
- O'Donnell Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
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4
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Crudele I, Reboreda JC, Fiorini VD. Imprinting in an interspecific brood parasitic bird. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230230. [PMID: 37221846 PMCID: PMC10206446 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0230] [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: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Many animals learn to recognize conspecifics after an early experience with them through sexual imprinting. For brood parasitic birds, it is not possible to develop conspecific recognition using cues provided by their foster parents. One solution is that a unique species-specific signal triggers the learning of additional aspects of the conspecific's phenotype. It has been proposed that for brood parasitic cowbirds, this signal is an innate vocalization, the chatter. This vocalization might act in a cross-modal learning process through which juveniles that listen to the song learn to recognize the visual characteristics of the song's producer. We trained two groups of juvenile shiny cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis). In one group, individuals listened to the chatter or a heterospecific call while they observed a stuffed model of the corresponding species. In the other group, individuals listened to the call of one species (cowbird or heterospecific) while they observed the stuffed model of the other species. In the preference test, juveniles chose the model associated with the chatter, regardless of whether the model was a cowbird or a heterospecific. These results show how the auditory system through a species-specific signal can lead to cross-modal learning of visual cues allowing conspecific recognition in brood parasitic cowbirds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio Crudele
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución & Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA-UBA-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
| | - Juan C. Reboreda
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución & Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA-UBA-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
| | - Vanina D. Fiorini
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución & Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA-UBA-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
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5
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Yeh YT, Rivera M, Woolley SMN. Auditory sensitivity and vocal acoustics in five species of estrildid songbirds. Anim Behav 2023; 195:107-116. [PMID: 36582925 PMCID: PMC9794177 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Comparative studies of acoustic communication in clades with diverse signal features provide a powerful framework for testing relationships between perception and behaviour. We measured auditory sensitivity in five species of estrildid songbirds with acoustically distinct songs and tested whether differences aligned with species differences in song frequency content. Species were chosen based on phylogeny and differences in song acoustics. Behavioural audiograms were obtained using operant training and testing. Adult audiograms were compared across species and between sexes within a species. Juvenile and adult audiograms were compared in one species. The audiograms of adults reared by their own species and those reared and tutored by another species were compared in one species. Results showed that audiograms were similar across species and similar to previous reports of songbird auditory sensitivity. Species differed in the highest frequency detected and the frequency of peak sensitivity. While hearing frequency range was not correlated with song frequency bandwidth, the frequency of peak sensitivity was highly corelated with the frequency of peak energy in song. Sensitivity did not differ based on sex, age or tutoring experience. Our findings suggest that adaptations in songbird auditory sensitivity are largely constrained by shared peripheral and central encoding mechanisms, with species-specific perception appearing only at peak sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yow-Tyng Yeh
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind, Brain, and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, U.S.A
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, U.S.A
| | - Moises Rivera
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind, Brain, and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, U.S.A
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, U.S.A
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, U.S.A
| | - Sarah M. N. Woolley
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind, Brain, and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, U.S.A
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, U.S.A
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6
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Fujii TG, Coulter A, Lawley KS, Prather JF, Okanoya K. Song Preference in Female and Juvenile Songbirds: Proximate and Ultimate Questions. Front Physiol 2022; 13:876205. [PMID: 35492616 PMCID: PMC9047784 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.876205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Birdsong has long been a subject of extensive research in the fields of ethology as well as neuroscience. Neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying song acquisition and production in male songbirds are particularly well studied, mainly because birdsong shares some important features with human speech such as critical dependence on vocal learning. However, birdsong, like human speech, primarily functions as communication signals. The mechanisms of song perception and recognition should also be investigated to attain a deeper understanding of the nature of complex vocal signals. Although relatively less attention has been paid to song receivers compared to signalers, recent studies on female songbirds have begun to reveal the neural basis of song preference. Moreover, there are other studies of song preference in juvenile birds which suggest possible functions of preference in social context including the sensory phase of song learning. Understanding the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying the formation, maintenance, expression, and alteration of such song preference in birds will potentially give insight into the mechanisms of speech communication in humans. To pursue this line of research, however, it is necessary to understand current methodological challenges in defining and measuring song preference. In addition, consideration of ultimate questions can also be important for laboratory researchers in designing experiments and interpreting results. Here we summarize the current understanding of song preference in female and juvenile songbirds in the context of Tinbergen's four questions, incorporating results ranging from ethological field research to the latest neuroscience findings. We also discuss problems and remaining questions in this field and suggest some possible solutions and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoko G. Fujii
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Austin Coulter
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States
| | - Koedi S. Lawley
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Jonathan F. Prather
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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7
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Fujii TG, Okanoya K. Auditory and sexual preferences for a father's song can co-emerge in female Bengalese finches. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0254302. [PMID: 35271565 PMCID: PMC8912213 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Birdsong is an important communication signal used in mate choice. In some songbird species, only the males produce songs. While the females of those species do not sing, they are sensitive to inter- and intra-species song variations, and the song preferences of females depend on their developmental experiences and/or genetic predispositions. For example, in Bengalese finches and zebra finches, adult females prefer the song to which they were exposed early in life, such as the father’s song. In the current study, we aimed to test whether the preference for the father’s song, as reported in previous Bengalese finch studies, can be interpreted as a mating preference. For this purpose, the subjects were raised exclusively with their family until they became sexually mature and then tested as adults. We measured copulation solicitation displays during playbacks of the father’s song vs. unfamiliar conspecific songs and found that across individuals, the father’s song elicited more displays than other songs. In addition, we analyzed if a bird’s response to a given song could be predicted by the level of similarity of that song to the father’s song. Although the birds expressed more displays to songs with greater similarity to the father’s song, the effect was not statistically significant. These results suggest that female Bengalese finches can develop a strong mating preference for the father’s song if they are exclusively exposed to the father’s song early in life. However, it is not clear if such a preference generalizes to other cases in which birds are exposed to multiple male songs during development. In order to fully elucidate the possible contribution of experience and genetic factors in the development of female song preference in this species, future studies will need more detailed manipulation and control of the rearing conditions, including cross-fostering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoko G. Fujii
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Behavior and Cognition Joint Research Laboratory, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Saitama, Japan
- * E-mail:
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8
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Coomes C, Derryberry E. High temperatures reduce song production and alter signal salience in songbirds. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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9
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Hauber ME, Louder MI, Griffith SC. Neurogenomic insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch. eLife 2021; 10:61849. [PMID: 34106827 PMCID: PMC8238503 DOI: 10.7554/elife.61849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a socially monogamous and colonial opportunistic breeder with pronounced sexual differences in singing and plumage coloration. Its natural history has led to it becoming a model species for research into sex differences in vocal communication, as well as behavioral, neural and genomic studies of imitative auditory learning. As scientists tap into the genetic and behavioral diversity of both wild and captive lineages, the zebra finch will continue to inform research into culture, learning, and social bonding, as well as adaptability to a changing climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark E Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, United States
| | - Matthew Im Louder
- International Research Center for Neurointelligence, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, United States
| | - Simon C Griffith
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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10
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Le Maguer L, Derégnaucourt S, Geberzahn N. Female preference for artificial song dialects in the zebra finch (
Taeniopygia guttata
). Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lucille Le Maguer
- Laboratoire Éthologie Cognition Développement Université Paris Nanterre Nanterre Cedex France
- Université Paris Lumières Paris France
| | - Sébastien Derégnaucourt
- Laboratoire Éthologie Cognition Développement Université Paris Nanterre Nanterre Cedex France
- Université Paris Lumières Paris France
- Institut Universitaire de France Paris France
| | - Nicole Geberzahn
- Laboratoire Éthologie Cognition Développement Université Paris Nanterre Nanterre Cedex France
- Université Paris Lumières Paris France
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11
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Fujii TG, Ikebuchi M, Okanoya K. Sex differences in the development and expression of a preference for familiar vocal signals in songbirds. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0243811. [PMID: 33471804 PMCID: PMC7816980 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Production and perception of birdsong critically depends on early developmental experience. In species where singing is a sexually dimorphic trait, early life song experience may affect later behavior differently between sexes. It is known that both male and female songbirds acquire a life-long memory of early song experience, though its function remains unclear. In this study, we hypothesized that male and female birds express a preference for their fathers' song, but do so differently depending on the developmental stage. We measured preference for their father's song over an unfamiliar one in both male and female Bengalese finches at multiple time points across ontogeny, using phonotaxis and vocal response as indices of preference. We found that in males, selective approach to their father's song decreased as they developed while in females, it remained stable regardless of age. This may correspond to a higher sensitivity to tutor song in young males while they are learning and a retained sensitivity in females because song is a courtship signal that is used throughout life. In addition, throughout development, males vocalized less frequently during presentation of their father's song compared to unfamiliar song, whereas females emitted more calls to their father's song. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of why songbirds acquire and maintain such a robust song memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoko G. Fujii
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Maki Ikebuchi
- Behavior and Cognition Joint Research Laboratory, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako-shi, Saitama, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Behavior and Cognition Joint Research Laboratory, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako-shi, Saitama, Japan
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12
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Logerot P, Smith PF, Wild M, Kubke MF. Auditory processing in the zebra finch midbrain: single unit responses and effect of rearing experience. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9363. [PMID: 32775046 PMCID: PMC7384439 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9363] [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: 09/05/2019] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In birds the auditory system plays a key role in providing the sensory input used to discriminate between conspecific and heterospecific vocal signals. In those species that are known to learn their vocalizations, for example, songbirds, it is generally considered that this ability arises and is manifest in the forebrain, although there is no a priori reason why brainstem components of the auditory system could not also play an important part. To test this assumption, we used groups of normal reared and cross-fostered zebra finches that had previously been shown in behavioural experiments to reduce their preference for conspecific songs subsequent to cross fostering experience with Bengalese finches, a related species with a distinctly different song. The question we asked, therefore, is whether this experiential change also changes the bias in favour of conspecific song displayed by auditory midbrain units of normally raised zebra finches. By recording the responses of single units in MLd to a variety of zebra finch and Bengalese finch songs in both normally reared and cross-fostered zebra finches, we provide a positive answer to this question. That is, the difference in response to conspecific and heterospecific songs seen in normal reared zebra finches is reduced following cross-fostering. In birds the virtual absence of mammalian-like cortical projections upon auditory brainstem nuclei argues against the interpretation that MLd units change, as observed in the present experiments, as a result of top-down influences on sensory processing. Instead, it appears that MLd units can be influenced significantly by sensory inputs arising directly from a change in auditory experience during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscilla Logerot
- Anatomy and Medical Imaging, University of Auckland, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Paul F. Smith
- Dept. of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brain Health Research Centre, Brain Research New Zealand, and Eisdell Moore Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Martin Wild
- Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Eisdell Moore Centre, University of Auckland, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - M. Fabiana Kubke
- Anatomy and Medical Imaging, Centre for Brain Research and Eisdell Moore Centre, University of Auckland, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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13
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Hudson EJ, Creanza N, Shizuka D. The Role of Nestling Acoustic Experience in Song Discrimination in a Sparrow. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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DeLeon S, Webster MS, DeVoogd TJ, Dhondt AA. Developmental polychlorinated biphenyl exposure influences adult zebra finch reproductive behaviour. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0230283. [PMID: 32191759 PMCID: PMC7082000 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are worldwide chemical pollutants that have been linked to disrupted reproduction and altered sexual behaviour in many organisms. However, the effect of developmental PCB-exposure on adult passerine reproductive behaviour remains unknown. A commercial PCB mixture (Aroclor 1242) or an estrogenic congener (PCB 52) were administered in sublethal amounts to nestling zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in the laboratory to identify effects of developmental PCB-exposure on adult zebra finch reproductive parameters. Results indicate that although traditional measures of reproductive success are not altered by this PCB dosage, PCBs do alter sexual behaviours such as male song and nesting behaviour. Males treated with PCB 52 in the nest sang significantly fewer syllables than control males, while females treated with Aroclor 1242 in the nest showed the strongest song preferences. PCB treatment also caused an increase in the number of nesting attempts and abandoned nests in the Aroclor 1242 treatment relative to the PCB 52 treatment, and offspring with control fathers fledged significantly earlier than those with fathers treated with Aroclor 1242. Behavioural differences between males seem to best explain these reproductive effects, most notably aggression. These findings suggest that sublethal PCB-exposure during development can significantly alter key reproductive characteristics of adult zebra finches, likely reducing fitness in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara DeLeon
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Michael S. Webster
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
- Department of Neurobiology and Behaviour, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Timothy J. DeVoogd
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - André A. Dhondt
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
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15
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Woolley SC, Woolley SMN. Integrating Form and Function in the Songbird Auditory Forebrain. THE NEUROETHOLOGY OF BIRDSONG 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-34683-6_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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16
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Gogola JV, Gores EO, London SE. Inhibitory cell populations depend on age, sex, and prior experience across a neural network for Critical Period learning. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19867. [PMID: 31882750 PMCID: PMC6934704 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56293-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In many ways, the complement of cell subtypes determines the information processing that a local brain circuit can perform. For example, the balance of excitatory and inhibitory (E/I) signaling within a brain region contributes to response magnitude and specificity in ways that influence the effectiveness of information processing. An extreme example of response changes to sensory information occur across Critical Periods (CPs). In primary mammalian visual cortex, GAD65 and parvalbumin inhibitory cell types in particular control experience-dependent responses during a CP. Here, we test how the density of GAD65- and parvalbumin-expressing cells may inform on a CP for complex behavioral learning. Juvenile male zebra finch songbirds (females cannot sing) learn to sing through coordinated sensory, sensorimotor, and motor learning processes distributed throughout a well-defined neural network. There is a CP for sensory learning, the process by which a young male forms a memory of his “tutor’s” song, which is then used to guide the young bird’s emerging song structure. We quantified the effect of sex and experience with a tutor on the cell densities of GAD65- and parvalbumin-expressing cells across major nodes of the song network, using ages that span the CP for tutor song memorization. As a resource, we also include whole-brain mapping data for both genes. Results indicate that inhibitory cell populations differ across sex, age, and experiential conditions, but not always in the ways we predicted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph V Gogola
- Department of Psychology, Institute for Mind and Biology, Chicago, USA
| | - Elisa O Gores
- Department of Psychology, Institute for Mind and Biology, Chicago, USA
| | - Sarah E London
- Department of Psychology, Institute for Mind and Biology, Chicago, USA. .,Grossman Institute for Neuroscience, Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior, Committee on Neurobiology, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
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Perkes A, White D, Wild JM, Schmidt M. Female Songbirds: The unsung drivers of courtship behavior and its neural substrates. Behav Processes 2019; 163:60-70. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2017] [Revised: 12/05/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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18
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Diez A, Cui A, MacDougall-Shackleton SA. The neural response of female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) to conspecific, heterospecific, and isolate song depends on early-life song exposure. Behav Processes 2019; 163:37-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2017] [Revised: 11/19/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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19
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Louder MIM, Lawson S, Lynch KS, Balakrishnan CN, Hauber ME. Neural mechanisms of auditory species recognition in birds. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 94:1619-1635. [PMID: 31066222 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Revised: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Auditory communication in humans and other animals frequently takes place in noisy environments with many co-occurring signallers. Receivers are thus challenged to rapidly recognize salient auditory signals and filter out irrelevant sounds. Most bird species produce a variety of complex vocalizations that function to communicate with other members of their own species and behavioural evidence broadly supports preferences for conspecific over heterospecific sounds (auditory species recognition). However, it remains unclear whether such auditory signals are categorically recognized by the sensory and central nervous system. Here, we review 53 published studies that compare avian neural responses between conspecific versus heterospecific vocalizations. Irrespective of the techniques used to characterize neural activity, distinct nuclei of the auditory forebrain are consistently shown to be repeatedly conspecific selective across taxa, even in response to unfamiliar individuals with distinct acoustic properties. Yet, species-specific neural discrimination is not a stereotyped auditory response, but is modulated according to its salience depending, for example, on ontogenetic exposure to conspecific versus heterospecific stimuli. Neuromodulators, in particular norepinephrine, may mediate species recognition by regulating the accuracy of neuronal coding for salient conspecific stimuli. Our review lends strong support for neural structures that categorically recognize conspecific signals despite the highly variable physical properties of the stimulus. The available data are in support of a 'perceptual filter'-based mechanism to determine the saliency of the signal, in that species identity and social experience combine to influence the neural processing of species-specific auditory stimuli. Finally, we present hypotheses and their testable predictions, to propose next steps in species-recognition research into the emerging model of the neural conceptual construct in avian auditory recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew I M Louder
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, U.S.A
| | - Shelby Lawson
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, U.S.A
| | - Kathleen S Lynch
- Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11759, U.S.A
| | | | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, U.S.A
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20
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Screven LA, Dent ML. Social isolation produces no effect on ultrasonic vocalization production in adult female CBA/CaJ mice. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0213068. [PMID: 30835741 PMCID: PMC6400338 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Mice produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in a wide variety of social contexts, including courtship, investigation, and territorial defense. Despite the belief that mouse USVs are innate, social experience may be necessary for mice to learn the appropriate situation to emit USVs. Mouse USVs have been divided into categories based on their spectrotemporal parameters, but it is currently unclear if social experience changes these parameters (e.g., frequency and duration) or the proportion of calls from each category produced. Social isolation has been found to influence USV production in male mice. To investigate the influence of social isolation on vocal behavior in female mice, recordings were made of USVs emitted to unfamiliar male and female mice by subjects with one of three types of social experience. Twenty-four adult female CBA/CaJ mice either lived alone, lived with other females only, or lived with other females and had limited access to a male. Mice were recorded while in isolation, ensuring all recorded USVs were from the female of interest. Vocalizations were separated into nine categories and peak frequency, duration, and bandwidth were measured for every call. Socially isolated mice did not produce significantly more USVs or USV types than socially experienced mice. Social isolation did not have a significant effect on the features of USVs, suggesting production of USVs may not be learned in female mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurel A. Screven
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
| | - Micheal L. Dent
- Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
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21
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Barr HJ, Woolley SC. Developmental auditory exposure shapes responses of catecholaminergic neurons to socially-modulated song. Sci Rep 2018; 8:11717. [PMID: 30082796 PMCID: PMC6079043 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30039-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Developmental sensory experience is critical to the tuning of sensory systems and can shape perceptual abilities and their neural substrates. Neuromodulators, including catecholamines, contribute to sensory plasticity in both older and younger individuals and provide a mechanism for translating sensory experience into changes in brain and behavior. Less well known, however, is whether developmental sensory experience has lasting effects on the neuromodulatory neurons themselves. Here, we used female zebra finches to investigate the degree to which developmental auditory experience can have lasting effects on the density and sensory responsiveness of catecholamine-synthesizing neuron populations. We found that hearing courtship, but not non-courtship, song increased expression of the activity-dependent immediate early gene cFOS in dopamine neurons of the caudal ventral tegmental area (VTA) and this increase was dependent on whether females heard adult song during development. Developmental song exposure also affected the density of dopamine producing neurons in the rostral VTA. In contrast, song-evoked responses in noradrenergic neurons of the Locus Coeruleus were not affected by either developmental song exposure or the social context of the stimulus. These data highlight the lasting effects that developmental auditory experience can have in shaping both the density and sensory responsiveness of dopamine neuron populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena J Barr
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Center for Research on Brain, Language, and Music, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Sarah C Woolley
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. .,Center for Research on Brain, Language, and Music, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. .,Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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22
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Louder MIM, Hauber ME, Balakrishnan CN. Early social experience alters transcriptomic responses to species-specific song stimuli in female songbirds. Behav Brain Res 2018; 347:69-76. [PMID: 29501507 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.02.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Revised: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Amongst an array of stimuli from countless species, animals must recognize salient signals, including those of their own species. In songbirds, behavioral tests have demonstrated that preferences for conspecific male songs are determined by both preexisting biases and social experience with a male 'tutor' during the sensitive period for learning. Although immediate early gene expression (e.g. ZENK) and electrophysiological experiments generally find greater neural responses for conspecific songs, it remains unclear whether distinct mechanisms, such as sensory gating, are engaged to filter out irrelevant heterospecific songs. Here we compare the transcriptomic profiles, via RNA-seq, of non-singing females of a songbird, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), by focusing on the auditory forebrain, a region known to be critical in the processing of conspecific vs. heterospecific songs. Gene expression profiles demonstrate that different neural mechanisms are involved in the processing of conspecific versus heterospecific Bengalese finch (Lonchura striata) songs. In particular, one gene known to mediate sensory gating, the alpha 3 subunit member of nicotinic cholinergic receptors (CHRNA3), was significantly downregulated in response to hearing Bengalese finch song, but not when young females were tutored by a Bengalese male during early development. Overall, our results confirm previous behavioral and physiological studies, such that heterospecific-tutored individuals processed both conspecific and tutor songs similarly. Using transcriptomic profiling of peripheral blood samples, we also demonstrate the methodological potential of non-terminal sampling to identify transcriptomic biomarkers for conspecific auditory recognition. These results show how experience and inherited preferences facilitate the neural processing of salient songs by female songbirds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew I M Louder
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA; Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA; Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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23
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Chen Y, Clark O, Woolley SC. Courtship song preferences in female zebra finches are shaped by developmental auditory experience. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0054. [PMID: 28539523 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2017] [Accepted: 04/06/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The performance of courtship signals provides information about the behavioural state and quality of the signaller, and females can use such information for social decision-making (e.g. mate choice). However, relatively little is known about the degree to which the perception of and preference for differences in motor performance are shaped by developmental experiences. Furthermore, the neural substrates that development could act upon to influence the processing of performance features remains largely unknown. In songbirds, females use song to identify males and select mates. Moreover, female songbirds are often sensitive to variation in male song performance. Consequently, we investigated how developmental exposure to adult male song affected behavioural and neural responses to song in a small, gregarious songbird, the zebra finch. Zebra finch males modulate their song performance when courting females, and previous work has shown that females prefer the high-performance, female-directed courtship song. However, unlike females allowed to hear and interact with an adult male during development, females reared without developmental song exposure did not demonstrate behavioural preferences for high-performance courtship songs. Additionally, auditory responses to courtship and non-courtship song were altered in adult females raised without developmental song exposure. These data highlight the critical role of developmental auditory experience in shaping the perception and processing of song performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yining Chen
- Integrated program in Neuroscience, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Oliver Clark
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sarah C Woolley
- Integrated program in Neuroscience, Montreal, Quebec, Canada .,Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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24
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Lampen J, McAuley JD, Chang SE, Wade J. Neural activity associated with rhythmicity of song in juvenile male and female zebra finches. Behav Processes 2017; 163:45-52. [PMID: 29247695 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Rhythm is an important aspect of both human speech and birdsong. Adult zebra finches show increased neural activity following exposure to arrhythmic compared to rhythmic song in regions similar to the mammalian auditory association cortex and amygdala. This pattern may indicate that birds are detecting errors in the arrhythmic song relative to their learned song template or to more general expectations of song structure. Here we exposed juvenile zebra finches to natural conspecific song (rhythmic) or song with altered inter-syllable intervals (arrhythmic) prior to or during template formation, or afterward as males are matching vocal production to a memorized song template (sensorimotor integration). Before template formation, expression of the immediate early gene ZENK was increased in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) of birds exposed to rhythmic relative to arrhythmic song. During template formation, ZENK expression was increased in the caudomedial mesopallium (CMM) of birds exposed to arrhythmic relative to rhythmic song. These results suggest that the youngest birds may be predisposed to respond to a more natural stimulus, and a template may be required for arrhythmic song to elicit increased neural activity. It also appears that functional development across the brain regions investigated continues to maturity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Lampen
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1101, USA.
| | - J Devin McAuley
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1101, USA; Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1101, USA
| | - Soo-Eun Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Juli Wade
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1101, USA; Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1101, USA
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25
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Cornell A, Hou JJ, Williams TD. Experimentally increased prebreeding male social behaviour has no effect on female breeding phenology and performance. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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26
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Honarmand M, Riebel K, Naguib M. Nutrition and peer group composition in early adolescence: impacts on male song and female preference in zebra finches. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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27
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ter Haar SM, Kaemper W, Stam K, Levelt CC, ten Cate C. The interplay of within-species perceptual predispositions and experience during song ontogeny in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Proc Biol Sci 2015; 281:20141860. [PMID: 25320162 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocal acquisition in songbirds and humans shows many similarities, one of which is that both involve a combination of experience and perceptual predispositions. Among languages some speech sounds are shared, while others are not. This could reflect a predisposition in young infants for learning some speech sounds over others, which combines with exposure-based learning. Similarly, in songbirds, some sounds are common across populations, while others are more specific to populations or individuals. We examine whether this is also due to perceptual preferences for certain within-species element types in naive juvenile male birds, and how such preferences interact with exposure to guide subsequent song learning. We show that young zebra finches lacking previous song exposure perceptually prefer songs with more common zebra finch song element types over songs with less common elements. Next, we demonstrate that after subsequent tutoring, birds prefer tutor songs regardless of whether these contain more common or less common elements. In adulthood, birds tutored with more common elements showed a higher song similarity to their tutor song, indicating that the early bias influenced song learning. Our findings help to understand the maintenance of similarities and the presence of differences among birds' songs, their dialects and human languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sita M ter Haar
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, PO Box 9505, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), Leiden University, PO Box 9515, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, c/o LUMC, Postzone C2-S, PO Box 9600, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands
| | - Wiebke Kaemper
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, PO Box 9505, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands
| | - Koen Stam
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, PO Box 9505, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands
| | - Clara C Levelt
- Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), Leiden University, PO Box 9515, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, c/o LUMC, Postzone C2-S, PO Box 9600, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands
| | - Carel ten Cate
- Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, PO Box 9505, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, c/o LUMC, Postzone C2-S, PO Box 9600, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands
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28
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Krentzel AA, Remage-Healey L. Sex differences and rapid estrogen signaling: A look at songbird audition. Front Neuroendocrinol 2015; 38:37-49. [PMID: 25637753 PMCID: PMC4484764 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2015.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2014] [Revised: 01/13/2015] [Accepted: 01/17/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The actions of estrogens have been associated with brain differentiation and sexual dimorphism in a wide range of vertebrates. Here we consider the actions of brain-derived 'neuroestrogens' in the forebrain and the accompanying differences and similarities observed between males and females in a variety of species. We summarize recent evidence showing that baseline and fluctuating levels of neuroestrogens within the auditory forebrain of male and female zebra finches are largely similar, and that neuroestrogens enhance auditory representations in both sexes. With a comparative perspective we review evidence that non-genomic mechanisms of neuroestrogen actions are sexually differentiated, and we propose a working model for nonclassical estrogen signaling via the MAPK intracellular signaling cascade in the songbird auditory forebrain that is informed by the way sex differences may be compensated. This view may lead to a more comprehensive understanding of how sex influences estradiol-dependent modulation of sensorimotor representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda A Krentzel
- Neuroscience and Behavior Program, Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - Luke Remage-Healey
- Neuroscience and Behavior Program, Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, United States.
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29
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Transgenic songbirds with suppressed or enhanced activity of CREB transcription factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:7599-604. [PMID: 26048905 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1413484112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Songbirds postnatally develop their skill to utter and to perceive a vocal signal for communication. How genetic and environmental influences act in concert to regulate the development of such skill is not fully understood. Here, we report the phenotype of transgenic songbirds with altered intrinsic activity of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) transcription factor. By viral vector-mediated modification of genomic DNA, we established germ line-transmitted lines of zebra finches, which exhibited enhanced or suppressed activity of CREB. Although intrinsically acquired vocalizations or their hearing ability were not affected, the transgenic birds showed reduced vocal learning quality of their own songs and impaired audio-memory formation against conspecific songs. These results thus demonstrate that appropriate activity of CREB is necessary for the postnatal acquisition of learned behavior in songbirds, and the CREB transgenic birds offer a unique opportunity to separately manipulate both genetic and environmental factors that impinge on the postnatal song learning.
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30
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Developmental stress impairs a female songbird's behavioural and neural response to a sexually selected signal. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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31
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Lin LC, Vanier DR, London SE. Social information embedded in vocalizations induces neurogenomic and behavioral responses. PLoS One 2014; 9:e112905. [PMID: 25384071 PMCID: PMC4226578 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 10/21/2014] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Social cues facilitate relationships within communities. Zebra finches form long-term stable mate pairs and produce offspring within a multi-family, multi-generational community that can include hundreds of birds. Males use song to communicate in this complex environment. Males sing as part of their courtship display but also abundantly throughout each day, suggesting a role for their vocal signature outside of a reproductive context. One advantage of a vocal social cue is that it can be exchanged when birds are out of visual contact, as regularly occurs in a zebra finch community. Previous works have demonstrated that females hearing song are affected by their social relationship to the bird singing it, and the immediate social context. Here, we probed the question of whether or not the song itself carried social information, as would be expected from the situations when males sing outside of view of the female. We quantified behavioral and neurogenomic responses to two songs we predicted would have distinct “attractive” qualities in adult females housed in either mixed sex or female-only social communities. Our results show that only mixed sex-housed females show distinctive behavioral and neurogenomic responses to attractive songs. These data are consistent with the idea that the acoustic properties of song carry social information, and that the current social situation modulates the neural and behavioral responses to these signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynda C. Lin
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - David R. Vanier
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Sarah E. London
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- Institute for Mind and Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- Committee on Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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32
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Tomaszycki ML, Blaine SK. Temporary inactivation of NCM, an auditory region, increases social interaction and decreases song perception in female zebra finches. Behav Processes 2014; 108:65-70. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.09.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2014] [Revised: 09/18/2014] [Accepted: 09/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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33
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Lampen J, Jones K, McAuley JD, Chang SE, Wade J. Arrhythmic song exposure increases ZENK expression in auditory cortical areas and nucleus taeniae of the adult zebra Finch. PLoS One 2014; 9:e108841. [PMID: 25259620 PMCID: PMC4178233 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2014] [Accepted: 08/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhythm is important in the production of motor sequences such as speech and song. Deficits in rhythm processing have been implicated in human disorders that affect speech and language processing, including stuttering, autism, and dyslexia. Songbirds provide a tractable model for studying the neural underpinnings of rhythm processing due to parallels with humans in neural structures and vocal learning patterns. In this study, adult zebra finches were exposed to naturally rhythmic conspecific song or arrhythmic song. Immunohistochemistry for the immediate early gene ZENK was used to detect neural activation in response to these two types of stimuli. ZENK was increased in response to arrhythmic song in the auditory association cortex homologs, caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) and caudomedial mesopallium (CMM), and the avian amygdala, nucleus taeniae (Tn). CMM also had greater ZENK labeling in females than males. The increased neural activity in NCM and CMM during perception of arrhythmic stimuli parallels increased activity in the human auditory cortex following exposure to unexpected, or perturbed, auditory stimuli. These auditory areas may be detecting errors in arrhythmic song when comparing it to a stored template of how conspecific song is expected to sound. CMM may also be important for females in evaluating songs of potential mates. In the context of other research in songbirds, we suggest that the increased activity in Tn may be related to the value of song for assessing mate choice and bonding or it may be related to perception of arrhythmic song as aversive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Lampen
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Katherine Jones
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
| | - J. Devin McAuley
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Soo-Eun Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Juli Wade
- Neuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America
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Yoder KM, Phan ML, Lu K, Vicario DS. He hears, she hears: are there sex differences in auditory processing? Dev Neurobiol 2014; 75:302-14. [PMID: 25220950 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2014] [Revised: 08/20/2014] [Accepted: 09/11/2014] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Songbirds learn individually unique songs through vocal imitation and use them in courtship and territorial displays. Previous work has identified a forebrain auditory area, the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), that appears specialized for discriminating and remembering conspecific vocalizations. In zebra finches (ZFs), only males produce learned vocalizations, but both sexes process these and other signals. This study assessed sex differences in auditory processing by recording extracellular multiunit activity at multiple sites within NCM. Juvenile female ZFs (n = 46) were reared in individual isolation and artificially tutored with song. In adulthood, songs were played back to assess auditory responses, stimulus-specific adaptation, neural bias for conspecific song, and memory for the tutor's song, as well as recently heard songs. In a subset of females (n = 36), estradiol (E2) levels were manipulated to test the contribution of E2, known to be synthesized in the brain, to auditory responses. Untreated females (n = 10) showed significant differences in response magnitude and stimulus-specific adaptation compared to males reared in the same paradigm (n = 9). In hormone-manipulated females, E2 augmentation facilitated the memory for recently heard songs in adulthood, but neither E2 augmentation (n = 15) nor E2 synthesis blockade (n = 9) affected tutor song memory or the neural bias for conspecific song. The results demonstrate subtle sex differences in processing communication signals, and show that E2 levels in female songbirds can affect the memory for songs of potential suitors, thus contributing to the process of mate selection. The results also have potential relevance to clinical interventions that manipulate E2 in human patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen M Yoder
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218
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35
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Dunning JL, Pant S, Bass A, Coburn Z, Prather JF. Mate choice in adult female Bengalese finches: females express consistent preferences for individual males and prefer female-directed song performances. PLoS One 2014; 9:e89438. [PMID: 24558501 PMCID: PMC3928452 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0089438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2013] [Accepted: 01/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In the process of mate selection by female songbirds, male suitors advertise their quality through reproductive displays in which song plays an important role. Females evaluate the quality of each signal and the associated male, and the results of that evaluation guide expression of selective courtship displays. Some studies reveal broad agreement among females in their preferences for specific signal characteristics, indicating that those features are especially salient in female mate choice. Other studies reveal that females differ in their preference for specific characteristics, indicating that in those cases female evaluation of signal quality is influenced by factors other than simply the physical properties of the signal. Thus, both the physical properties of male signals and specific traits of female signal evaluation can impact female mate choice. Here, we characterized the mate preferences of female Bengalese finches. We found that calls and copulation solicitation displays are equally reliable indicators of female preference. In response to songs from an array of males, each female expressed an individual-specific song preference, and those preferences were consistent across tests spanning many months. Across a population of females, songs of some males were more commonly preferred than others, and females preferred female-directed songs more than undirected songs, suggesting that some song features are broadly attractive. Preferences were indistinguishable for females that did or did not have social experience with the singers, indicating that female preference is strongly directed by song features rather than experiences associated with the singer. Analysis of song properties revealed several candidate parameters that may influence female evaluation. In an initial investigation of those parameters, females could be very selective for one song feature yet not selective for another. Therefore, multiple song parameters are evaluated independently. Together these findings reveal the nature of signal evaluation and mate choice in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffery L. Dunning
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, United States of America
| | - Santosh Pant
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, United States of America
| | - Aaron Bass
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, United States of America
| | - Zachary Coburn
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, United States of America
| | - Jonathan F. Prather
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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36
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Social experience during adolescence influences how male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) group with conspecifics. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1668-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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37
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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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Tomaszycki ML, Dzubur E. 17β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type IV, a Z-linked gene, is higher in females than in males in visual and auditory regions of developing zebra finches. Brain Res 2013; 1520:95-106. [PMID: 23692956 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2013.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2012] [Revised: 05/08/2013] [Accepted: 05/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
One of the most important decisions in a monogamous animal's life is the choice of a partner (partner preference), but the process by which this occurs remains poorly understood. The present study tests the hypothesis that hormones and genes play a role in sexual differentiation of partner preferences, as in the song system. We focused on a Z-linked gene, 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type IV (HSD17B4), coding for a steroidogenic enzyme that converts estradiol (E2) into an inactive metabolite. HSD17B4 mRNA is expressed more in the song regions of males compared to females throughout development, suggesting that regulation of E2 is important for male-typical song development. Here, we focused on four regions associated with sexual partner preferences. Females had significantly higher levels of HSD17B4 mRNA in auditory (caudomedial nidopallium) and visual (hyperpallium apicale) regions than did males at day 25. HSD17B4 was expressed in the hippocampus and caudolateral nidopallium, but there were no sex differences. In a second experiment, animals of both sexes were treated with E2 and HSD17B4 and androgen receptor (AR) mRNA were measured, since masculinization of the song system is, in part, accomplished by AR. AR was low across the four regions and was not sexually differentiated. E2 treatments increased HSD17B4 mRNA in the auditory region of males, which is contrary to findings in the song system. Our research suggests that different behaviors may be guided by the same genes and hormones, but that the exact nature of the gene-hormone relationships may differ according to brain region and behavior.
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39
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Experience dependence of neural responses to different classes of male songs in the primary auditory forebrain of female songbirds. Behav Brain Res 2013; 243:184-90. [PMID: 23333401 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2012] [Revised: 12/28/2012] [Accepted: 01/08/2013] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
There is both extensive species-specificity and critical experience-dependence in the recognition of own species songs in many songbird species. For example, female zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata raised by their parents show behavioral preferences for the songs of the father over unfamiliar conspecific males and for unfamiliar songs of conspecifics over heterospecifics. Behavioral discrimination between different species' songs is also displayed by females raised without exposure to any male songs but it is diminished in females raised by heterospecific foster parents. We tested whether neural responses in the female auditory forebrain paralleled each of these known behavioral patterns in song-class discrimination. We analyzed spike rates, above background levels, recorded from single units in the L2a subregion of the field L complex of female zebra finches. In subjects raised by genetic parents, spike rates were similar to songs of fathers and unfamiliar male zebra finches, and higher to unfamiliar conspecific over unfamiliar heterospecific songs. In females raised in isolation from male songs, we also found higher spike rates to unfamiliar conspecific over heterospecific songs. In females raised by heterospecific foster parents, spike rates were similar in response to songs of the foster father and unfamiliar males of the foster species, similar between unfamiliar songs of conspecifics and the heterospecific foster species, and higher to unfamiliar songs of the foster species over a third finch species. Thus, in parallel to the experience-dependence of females' behaviors in response to different male song classes, differences in social experiences can also alter neural response patterns to male song classes in the auditory forebrain of female zebra finches.
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Ruploh T, Bischof HJ, von Engelhardt N. Adolescent social environment shapes sexual and aggressive behaviour of adult male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1436-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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41
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White DJ, Gersick AS, Snyder-Mackler N. Social networks and the development of social skills in cowbirds. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2012; 367:1892-900. [PMID: 22641827 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The complex interrelationships among individuals within social environments can exert selection pressures on social skills: those behaviours and cognitive processes that allow animals to manipulate and out-reproduce others. Social complexity can also have a developmental effect on social skills by providing individuals with opportunities to hone their skills by dealing with the challenges posed in within-group interactions. We examined how social skills develop in captive, adult male brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) that were exposed to differing levels of 'social complexity' across a 2-year experiment. After each year, subjects housed in groups with dynamic social structure (where many individuals entered and exited the groups during the year) outcompeted birds who had been housed in static groups. Exposure to dynamic structure subsequently led to substantial changes to the social networks of the home conditions during the breeding season. Static groups were characterized by a predictable relationship between singing and reproductive success that was stable across years. In dynamic conditions, however, males showed significant variability in their dominance status, their courting and even in their mating success. Reproductive success of males varied dramatically across years and was responsive to social learning in adulthood, and socially dynamic environments 'trained' individuals to be better competitors, even at an age when the development of many traits important for breeding (like song quality) had ended.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J White
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, Canada.
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42
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Woolley SMN. Early experience shapes vocal neural coding and perception in songbirds. Dev Psychobiol 2012; 54:612-31. [PMID: 22711657 PMCID: PMC3404257 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2010] [Accepted: 01/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Songbirds, like humans, are highly accomplished vocal learners. The many parallels between speech and birdsong and conserved features of mammalian and avian auditory systems have led to the emergence of the songbird as a model system for studying the perceptual mechanisms of vocal communication. Laboratory research on songbirds allows the careful control of early life experience and high-resolution analysis of brain function during vocal learning, production, and perception. Here, I review what songbird studies have revealed about the role of early experience in the development of vocal behavior, auditory perception, and the processing of learned vocalizations by auditory neurons. The findings of these studies suggest general principles for how exposure to vocalizations during development and into adulthood influences the perception of learned vocal signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M N Woolley
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, 406 Schermerhorn Hall, 1190 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027, USA.
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43
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Sanes DH, Woolley SMN. A behavioral framework to guide research on central auditory development and plasticity. Neuron 2011; 72:912-29. [PMID: 22196328 PMCID: PMC3244881 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/06/2011] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The auditory CNS is influenced profoundly by sounds heard during development. Auditory deprivation and augmented sound exposure can each perturb the maturation of neural computations as well as their underlying synaptic properties. However, we have learned little about the emergence of perceptual skills in these same model systems, and especially how perception is influenced by early acoustic experience. Here, we argue that developmental studies must take greater advantage of behavioral benchmarks. We discuss quantitative measures of perceptual development and suggest how they can play a much larger role in guiding experimental design. Most importantly, including behavioral measures will allow us to establish empirical connections among environment, neural development, and perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan H Sanes
- Center for Neural Science, 4 Washington Place, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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44
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Keagy J, Savard JF, Borgia G. Cognitive ability and the evolution of multiple behavioral display traits. Behav Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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45
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Riebel K. Comment on Boogert et al.: mate choice for cognitive traits or cognitive traits for mate choice? Behav Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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46
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Adkins-Regan E. Neuroendocrine contributions to sexual partner preference in birds. Front Neuroendocrinol 2011; 32:155-63. [PMID: 21277320 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2011.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2010] [Revised: 01/13/2011] [Accepted: 01/23/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
A majority of birds are socially monogamous, providing exceptional opportunities to discover neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying preferences for opposite-sex partners where the sexes form extended affiliative relationships. Zebra finches have been the focus of the most systematic program of research to date in any socially monogamous animal. In this species, sexual partner preference can be partially or largely sex reversed with hormone manipulations during early development, suggesting a role for organizational hormone actions. This same conclusion emerges from research with Japanese quail, which do not form long-term pairs. In zebra finches, social experience manipulations during juvenile development also can sex reverse partner preference, either alone or in combination with an early hormone manipulation. Although there are several candidate brain regions where neural mechanisms could underlie these effects of hormones or social experience, the necessary research has not yet been done to determine their involvement. The neuroendocrinology of avian sexual partner preference is still frontier territory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Adkins-Regan
- Department of Psychology and Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601, USA.
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47
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Węgrzyn E, Leniowski K, Osiejuk TS. Whistle duration and consistency reflect philopatry and harem size in great reed warblers. Anim Behav 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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48
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49
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Maul KK, Voss HU, Parra LC, Salgado-Commissariat D, Ballon D, Tchernichovski O, Helekar SA. The development of stimulus-specific auditory responses requires song exposure in male but not female zebra finches. Dev Neurobiol 2010; 70:28-40. [PMID: 19937773 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.20751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Juvenile male zebra finches develop their song by imitation. Females do not sing but are attracted to males' songs. With functional magnetic resonance imaging and event-related potentials we tested how early auditory experience shapes responses in the auditory forebrain of the adult bird. Adult male birds kept in isolation over the sensitive period for song learning showed no consistency in auditory responses to conspecific songs, calls, and syllables. Thirty seconds of song playback each day over development, which is sufficient to induce song imitation, was also sufficient to shape stimulus-specific responses. Strikingly, adult females kept in isolation over development showed responses similar to those of males that were exposed to songs. We suggest that early auditory experience with songs may be required to tune perception toward conspecific songs in males, whereas in females song selectivity develops even without prior exposure to song.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen K Maul
- Department of Biology, The City College of New York, City University of New York, New York, USA.
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50
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Kato Y, Hasegawa T, Okanoya K. Song preference of female Bengalese finches as measured by operant conditioning. J ETHOL 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-010-0203-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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