1
|
Kaplan G. The evolution of social play in songbirds, parrots and cockatoos - emotional or highly complex cognitive behaviour or both? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 161:105621. [PMID: 38479604 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Social play has been described in many animals. However, much of this social behaviour among birds, particularly in adults, is still relatively unexplored in terms of the environmental, psychological, and social dynamics of play. This paper provides an overview of what we know about adult social play in birds and addresses areas in which subtleties and distinctions, such as in play initiation and social organisation and its relationship to expressions of play, are considered in detail. The paper considers emotional, social, innovative, and cognitive aspects of play, then the environmental conditions and affiliative bonds, suggesting a surprisingly complex framework of criteria awaiting further research. Adult social play has so far been studied in only a small number of avian species, exclusively in those with a particularly large brain relative to body size without necessarily addressing brain functions and lateralization. When lateralization of brain function is considered, it can further illuminate a possibly significant relevance of play behaviour to the evolution of cognition, to management of emotions, and the development of sociality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gisela Kaplan
- University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Parishar P, Sehgal N, Iyengar S. The expression of delta opioid receptor mRNA in adult male zebra finches (Taenopygia guttata). PLoS One 2021; 16:e0256599. [PMID: 34464410 PMCID: PMC8407588 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The endogenous opioid system is evolutionarily conserved across reptiles, birds and mammals and is known to modulate varied brain functions such as learning, memory, cognition and reward. To date, most of the behavioral and anatomical studies in songbirds have mainly focused on μ-opioid receptors (ORs). Expression patterns of δ-ORs in zebra finches, a well-studied species of songbird have not yet been reported, possibly due to the high sequence similarity amongst different opioid receptors. In the present study, a specific riboprobe against the δ-OR mRNA was used to perform fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on sections from the male zebra finch brain. We found that δ-OR mRNA was expressed in different parts of the pallium, basal ganglia, cerebellum and the hippocampus. Amongst the song control and auditory nuclei, HVC (abbreviation used as a formal name) and NIf (nucleus interfacialis nidopallii) strongly express δ-OR mRNA and stand out from the surrounding nidopallium. Whereas the expression of δ-OR mRNA is moderate in LMAN (lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium), it is low in the MSt (medial striatum), Area X, DLM (dorsolateral nucleus of the medial thalamus), RA (robust nucleus of the arcopallium) of the song control circuit and Field L, Ov (nucleus ovoidalis) and MLd (nucleus mesencephalicus lateralis, pars dorsalis) of the auditory pathway. Our results suggest that δ-ORs may be involved in modulating singing, song learning as well as spatial learning in zebra finches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pooja Parishar
- National Brain Research Centre, Gurugram, Haryana, India
| | - Neha Sehgal
- National Brain Research Centre, Gurugram, Haryana, India
| | - Soumya Iyengar
- National Brain Research Centre, Gurugram, Haryana, India
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Walløe S, Chakraborty M, Balsby TJS, Jarvis ED, Dabelsteen T, Pakkenberg B. A Relationship between the Characteristics of the Oval Nucleus of the Mesopallium and Parrot Vocal Response to Playback. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2021; 96:37-48. [PMID: 34284396 DOI: 10.1159/000517489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Correlations between differences in animal behavior and brain structures have been used to infer function of those structures. Brain region size has especially been suggested to be important for an animal's behavioral capability, controlled by specific brain regions. The oval nucleus of the mesopallium (MO) is part of the anterior forebrain vocal learning pathway in the parrot brain. Here, we compare brain volume and total number of neurons in MO of three parrot species (the peach-fronted conure, Eupsittula aurea, the peach-faced lovebird, Agapornis roseicollis, and the budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus), relating the total neuron numbers with the vocal response to playbacks of each species. We find that individuals with the highest number of neurons in MO had the shortest vocal latency. The peach-fronted conures showed the shortest vocal latency and largest number of MO neurons, the peach-faced lovebird had intermediary levels of both, and the budgerigar had the longest latency and least number of neurons. These findings indicate the MO nucleus as one candidate region that may be part of what controls the vocal capacity of parrots.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Solveig Walløe
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mukta Chakraborty
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.,Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Erich D Jarvis
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.,Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, USA
| | - Torben Dabelsteen
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Bente Pakkenberg
- Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Memory-specific correlated neuronal activity in higher-order auditory regions of a parrot. Sci Rep 2021; 11:1618. [PMID: 33452344 PMCID: PMC7810846 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80726-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Male budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) are open-ended learners that can learn to produce new vocalisations as adults. We investigated neuronal activation in male budgerigars using the expression of the protein products of the immediate early genes zenk and c-fos in response to exposure to conspecific contact calls (CCs: that of the mate or an unfamiliar female) in three subregions (CMM, dNCM and vNCM) of the caudomedial pallium, a higher order auditory region. Significant positive correlations of Zenk expression were found between these subregions after exposure to mate CCs. In contrast, exposure to CCs of unfamiliar females produced no such correlations. These results suggest the presence of a CC-specific association among the subregions involved in auditory memory. The caudomedial pallium of the male budgerigar may have functional subdivisions that cooperate in the neuronal representation of auditory memory.
Collapse
|
5
|
Inda M, Hotta K, Oka K. High responsiveness of auditory neurons to specific combination of acoustic features in female songbirds. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 53:1412-1427. [PMID: 33205482 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15047] [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: 06/11/2020] [Revised: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a songbird species in which males sing their unique songs to attract females who then select their preferred male. Acoustic features in the songs of individual males are important features for female auditory perception. While the male of this species is a classic model of vocal production, it has been little known about auditory processing in female. In the higher auditory brain regions, the caudomedial mesopallium (CMM) and nidopallium (NCM) contribute to female's sound recognition, we, therefore, extracted acoustic features that induce neural activities with high detection power on both regions in female finches. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that neurons were sensitive to mean frequency and Wiener entropy. In addition, we performed an experiment with modified artificial songs and harmonic songs to directly investigate neural responsiveness for deriving further evidence for the contribution of these two acoustic features. Finally, we illustrated a specific ratio combining these two acoustic features that showed highest sensitivity to neural responsiveness, and we found that properties of sensitivity are different between CMM and NCM. Our results indicate that the mixture of the two acoustic features with the specific ratio is important in the higher auditory regions of female songbirds, and these two regions have differences in encoding for sensitivity to these acoustic features.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Inda
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Kohji Hotta
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Kotaro Oka
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan.,Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.,Waseda Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Duque FG, Rodriguez-Saltos CA, Uma S, Nasir I, Monteros MF, Wilczynski W, Carruth LL. High-frequency hearing in a hummingbird. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eabb9393. [PMID: 32832648 PMCID: PMC7439503 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb9393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Some hummingbirds produce unique high-frequency vocalizations. It remains unknown whether these hummingbirds can hear these sounds, which are produced at frequencies beyond the range at which most birds can hear. Here, we show behavioral and neural evidence of high-frequency hearing in a hummingbird, the Ecuadorian Hillstar (Oreotrochilus chimborazo). In the field, hummingbirds responded to playback of high-frequency song with changes in body posture and approaching behavior. We assessed neural activation by inducing ZENK expression in the brain auditory areas in response to the high-frequency song. We found higher ZENK expression in the auditory regions of hummingbirds exposed to the high-frequency song compared to controls, while no difference was observed in the hippocampus between groups. The behavioral and neural responses show that this hummingbird can hear sounds at high frequencies. This is the first evidence of the use of high-frequency vocalizations and high-frequency hearing in conspecific communication in a bird.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- F. G. Duque
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - S. Uma
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - I. Nasir
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - M. F. Monteros
- Facultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias Agropecuarias y Ambientales, Universidad Técnica del Norte, Ibarra, Ecuador
- Fundación Ecominga Red de Bosques Protectores Amenazados, Baños, Ecuador
| | - W. Wilczynski
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - L. L. Carruth
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Sexual Dimorphism for Coping Styles Complements Traditional Methods for Sex Determination in a Multivariety Endangered Hen Breed. Animals (Basel) 2019; 9:ani9121165. [PMID: 31861237 PMCID: PMC6941311 DOI: 10.3390/ani9121165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Revised: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Early determination of sex of poultry specimens plays a major role in the design and implementation of conservation programs for endangered avian species. This information can be used to tailor noninvasive early specific models to determine sex, fitting the characteristics of local poultry populations, as traditional methods may not be effective given the implicit diversity of local breeds and their varieties or strains. The English method, down feather coloration, wing fan, and behavior/coping styles displayed by the individuals can be used to accurately sort animals according to their sex, regardless of the variety of the individuals. Abstract Sex determination is key to designing endangered poultry population conservation and breeding programs when sex distribution departs from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. A total of 112 Utrerana chickens (28 per variety, partridge, black, white, and franciscan) were selected for hatching day sexing. Sex assignation was performed through 10 methods. Three sex assignment criteria comprised criteria found in literature, opposite criteria to that in the literature, and composite criteria combining methods reporting the highest predictive success from the previous ones. This study aims to determine which method combinations may more successfully determine sex across the four varieties of Utrerana endangered hen breed to tailor noninvasive early specific models to determine sex in local chicken populations. Although the explanatory power of the three assignation criteria is equal (75%), assignation criteria 2 resulted to be the most efficient as it correctly assigns males more frequently. Only methods 3 (English method), 5 (general down feathers coloration), 7 (wing fan), and 10 (behavior/coping styles) reported significant differences regardless of the variety, hence, are appropriate for early sexing. Sex confirmation was performed at 1.5 months old. Identifying sex proportions enhances genetic management tasks in endangered populations, complementing more standardized techniques, which may result inefficient given the implicit diversity found in local populations.
Collapse
|
8
|
Inda M, Hotta K, Oka K. Neural properties of fundamental function encoding of sound selectivity in the female avian auditory cortex. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 51:1770-1783. [PMID: 31705589 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Revised: 11/03/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) use their voices for communication. Song structures in the songs of individual males are important for sound recognition in females. The caudomedial mesopallium (CMM) and nidopallium (NCM) are known to be essential higher auditory regions for sound recognition. These two regions have also been discussed with respect to their fundamental functions and song selectivity. To clarify their functions and selectivity, we investigated latencies and spiking patterns and also developed a novel correlation analysis to evaluate the relationship between neural activity and the characteristics of acoustic factors. We found that the latencies and spiking patterns in response to song stimuli differed between the CMM and NCM. In addition, our correlation analysis revealed that amplitude and frequency structures were important temporal acoustic factors for both regions. Although the CMM and NCM have different fundamental functions, they share similar encoding systems for acoustic factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Inda
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Kohji Hotta
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Kotaro Oka
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan.,Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Molina-García L, Barrios A. Sex differences in learning — shared principles across taxa. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2018.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
10
|
Jiang L, Wang Q, Yu J, Gowda V, Johnson G, Yang J, Kan X, Yang X. miRNAome expression profiles in the gonads of adult Melopsittacus undulatus. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4615. [PMID: 29666766 PMCID: PMC5896495 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2017] [Accepted: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) is one of the most widely studied parrot species, serving as an excellent animal model for behavior and neuroscience research. Until recently, it was unknown how sexual differences in the behavior, physiology, and development of organisms are regulated by differential gene expression. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous short non-coding RNA molecules that can post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression and play a critical role in gonadal differentiation as well as early development of animals. However, very little is known about the role gonadal miRNAs play in the early development of birds. Research on the sex-biased expression of miRNAs in avian gonads are limited, and little is known about M. undulatus. In the current study, we sequenced two small non-coding RNA libraries made from the gonads of adult male and female budgerigars using Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. We obtained 254 known and 141 novel miRNAs, and randomly validated five miRNAs. Of these, three miRNAs were differentially expressed miRNAs and 18 miRNAs involved in sexual differentiation as determined by functional analysis with GO annotation and KEGG pathway analysis. In conclusion, this work is the first report of sex-biased miRNAs expression in the budgerigar, and provides additional sequences to the avian miRNAome database which will foster further functional genomic research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lan Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.,The Institute of Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China
| | - Qingqing Wang
- The Institute of Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China.,The Provincial Key Laboratory of the Conservation and Exploitation Research of Biological Resources in Anhui, Wuhu, China
| | - Jue Yu
- College of Foreign Studies, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China
| | - Vinita Gowda
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Gabriel Johnson
- Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Jianke Yang
- School of Basic Medicine, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China
| | - Xianzhao Kan
- The Institute of Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China.,The Provincial Key Laboratory of the Conservation and Exploitation Research of Biological Resources in Anhui, Wuhu, China
| | - Xiaojun Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| |
Collapse
|