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Yoon JH, Lee D, Lee C, Cho E, Lee S, Cazenave-Gassiot A, Kim K, Chae S, Dennis EA, Suh PG. Paradigm shift required for translational research on the brain. Exp Mol Med 2024; 56:1043-1054. [PMID: 38689090 PMCID: PMC11148129 DOI: 10.1038/s12276-024-01218-x] [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: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Biomedical research on the brain has led to many discoveries and developments, such as understanding human consciousness and the mind and overcoming brain diseases. However, historical biomedical research on the brain has unique characteristics that differ from those of conventional biomedical research. For example, there are different scientific interpretations due to the high complexity of the brain and insufficient intercommunication between researchers of different disciplines owing to the limited conceptual and technical overlap of distinct backgrounds. Therefore, the development of biomedical research on the brain has been slower than that in other areas. Brain biomedical research has recently undergone a paradigm shift, and conducting patient-centered, large-scale brain biomedical research has become possible using emerging high-throughput analysis tools. Neuroimaging, multiomics, and artificial intelligence technology are the main drivers of this new approach, foreshadowing dramatic advances in translational research. In addition, emerging interdisciplinary cooperative studies provide insights into how unresolved questions in biomedicine can be addressed. This review presents the in-depth aspects of conventional biomedical research and discusses the future of biomedical research on the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jong Hyuk Yoon
- Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea.
| | - Dongha Lee
- Cognitive Science Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Chany Lee
- Cognitive Science Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Eunji Cho
- Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Seulah Lee
- Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Amaury Cazenave-Gassiot
- Department of Biochemistry and Precision Medicine Translational Research Program, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 119077, Singapore
- Singapore Lipidomics Incubator (SLING), Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117456, Singapore
| | - Kipom Kim
- Research Strategy Office, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Sehyun Chae
- Neurovascular Unit Research Group, Korean Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Edward A Dennis
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0601, USA
| | - Pann-Ghill Suh
- Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
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2
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Sexton CL, Diogo R, Subiaul F, Bradley BJ. Raising an Eye at Facial Muscle Morphology in Canids. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:290. [PMID: 38785773 PMCID: PMC11118188 DOI: 10.3390/biology13050290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2024] [Revised: 04/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
The evolution of facial muscles in dogs has been linked to human preferential selection of dogs whose faces appear to communicate information and emotion. Dogs who convey, especially with their eyes, a sense of perceived helplessness can elicit a caregiving response from humans. However, the facial muscles used to generate such expressions may not be uniquely present in all dogs, but rather specifically cultivated among various taxa and individuals. In a preliminary, qualitative gross anatomical evaluation of 10 canid specimens of various species, we find that the presence of two facial muscles previously implicated in human-directed canine communication, the levator anguli occuli medialis (LAOM) and the retractor anguli occuli lateralis (RAOL), was not unique to domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris). Our results suggest that these aspects of facial musculature do not necessarily reflect selection via human domestication and breeding. In addition to quantitatively evaluating more and other members of the Canidae family, future directions should include analyses of the impact of superficial facial features on canine communication and interspecies communication between dogs and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney L. Sexton
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Rui Diogo
- Department of Anatomy, Howard University School of Medicine, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - Francys Subiaul
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Brenda J. Bradley
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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3
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Balanoff A, Ferrer E, Saleh L, Gignac PM, Gold MEL, Marugán-Lobón J, Norell M, Ouellette D, Salerno M, Watanabe A, Wei S, Bever G, Vaska P. Quantitative functional imaging of the pigeon brain: implications for the evolution of avian powered flight. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232172. [PMID: 38290541 PMCID: PMC10827418 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The evolution of flight is a rare event in vertebrate history, and one that demands functional integration across multiple anatomical/physiological systems. The neuroanatomical basis for such integration and the role that brain evolution assumes in behavioural transformations remain poorly understood. We make progress by (i) generating a positron emission tomography (PET)-based map of brain activity for pigeons during rest and flight, (ii) using these maps in a functional analysis of the brain during flight, and (iii) interpreting these data within a macroevolutionary context shaped by non-avian dinosaurs. Although neural activity is generally conserved from rest to flight, we found significant increases in the cerebellum as a whole and optic flow pathways. Conserved activity suggests processing of self-movement and image stabilization are critical when a bird takes to the air, while increased visual and cerebellar activity reflects the importance of integrating multimodal sensory information for flight-related movements. A derived cerebellar capability likely arose at the base of maniraptoran dinosaurs, where volumetric expansion and possible folding directly preceded paravian flight. These data represent an important step toward establishing how the brain of modern birds supports their unique behavioural repertoire and provide novel insights into the neurobiology of the bird-like dinosaurs that first achieved powered flight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Balanoff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Elizabeth Ferrer
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Samuel Merritt University, Oakland, CA 94609, USA
| | - Lemise Saleh
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Paul M. Gignac
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
| | - M. Eugenia L. Gold
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Department of Biology, Suffolk University, Boston, MA 02108, USA
| | - Jesús Marugán-Lobón
- Unidad de Paleontología, Departamento Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Cantoblanco (Madrid), Spain
| | - Mark Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | | | - Michael Salerno
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Akinobu Watanabe
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA
- Life Sciences Department, Vertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Shouyi Wei
- Department of Physics, New York Proton Center, New York, NY 10035, USA
| | - Gabriel Bever
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Paul Vaska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
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Pendergraft LT, Marzluff JM, Cross DJ, Shimizu T, Templeton CN. American crows that excel at tool use activate neural circuits distinct from less talented individuals. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6539. [PMID: 37863938 PMCID: PMC10589215 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42203-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Tools enable animals to exploit and command new resources. However, the neural circuits underpinning tool use and how neural activity varies with an animal's tool proficiency, are only known for humans and some other primates. We use 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography to image the brain activity of naïve vs trained American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) when presented with a task requiring the use of stone tools. As in humans, talent affects the neural circuits activated by crows as they prepare to execute the task. Naïve and less proficient crows use neural circuits associated with sensory- and higher-order processing centers (the mesopallium and nidopallium), while highly proficient individuals increase activity in circuits associated with motor learning and tactile control (hippocampus, tegmentum, nucleus basorostralis, and cerebellum). Greater proficiency is found primarily in adult female crows and may reflect their need to use more cognitively complex strategies, like tool use, to obtain food.
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Affiliation(s)
- LomaJohn T Pendergraft
- University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Seattle, WA, USA.
- University of Washington, Department of Psychology, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - John M Marzluff
- University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Donna J Cross
- University of Utah, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Toru Shimizu
- University of South Florida, Department of Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences, Tampa, FL, USA
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5
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Williams D. Eagle eyed or bird brained? Eye (Lond) 2023; 37:2426-2430. [PMID: 37353509 PMCID: PMC10397276 DOI: 10.1038/s41433-023-02568-y] [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: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The importance of the visual system to birds for behaviours from feeding, mate choice, flying, navigation and determination of seasons, together with the presence of photoreceptors in the retina, the pineal and the brain, render the avian visual system a particularly fruitful model for understanding of eye-brain interactions. In this review we will particularly focus on the pigeon, since here we have a brain stereotactically mapped and a genome fully sequenced, together with a particular bird, the homing pigeon, with remarkable ability to navigate over hundreds of miles and return to exactly the same roosting site with exceptional precision. We might denigrate the avian species by the term bird brained, but here are animals with phenomenal abilities to use their exceptional vision, their eagle eyedness, to best advantage.
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Di Giovanni J, Fawcett TW, Templeton CN, Raghav S, Boogert NJ. Urban gulls show similar thermographic and behavioral responses to human shouting and conspecific alarm calls. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.891985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Rapid population growth and the urbanization of modern environments are markedly increasing human-wildlife conflict. Wild animals in urban landscapes can benefit from exploiting human resources, but are also exposed to increased risk of human-caused injury, which should favor the ability to perceive and respond to human cues. Although it is well known that domesticated animals use human cues that may indicate threats, less is known about wild animals living in urban environments. Herring gulls (Larus argentatus) in urban landscapes have adapted kleptoparasitic behaviors to obtain human food, often resulting in negative interactions with humans. Here we quantified both the behavioral and physiological responses of free-living urban herring gulls to human shouting. We presented urban gulls with a fake human food item and played back recordings of either a man shouting, a natural stressor (i.e., conspecific alarm call), or a neutral stimulus (i.e., robin song). We recorded behavioral responses and used non-invasive infrared thermography to measure eye-region surface temperature changes associated with the avian physiological stress response. We found that gulls exposed to shouting and to conspecific alarm calls showed similar changes in behavior (indicating high levels of vigilance) and eye-region surface temperature (indicating physiological stress). Both responses were significantly stronger than the responses to robin song. Additionally, the behavioral and physiological responses were positively correlated across individuals. Our results demonstrate that urban-dwelling gulls respond to human shouting and conspecific alarm calls in a similar way, and suggest that infrared thermography is a viable technique to monitor stress responses in free-living birds.
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7
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Lattin CR, Kelly TR, Kelly MW, Johnson KM. Constitutive gene expression differs in three brain regions important for cognition in neophobic and non-neophobic house sparrows (Passer domesticus). PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267180. [PMID: 35536842 PMCID: PMC9089922 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [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: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neophobia (aversion to new objects, food, and environments) is a personality trait that affects the ability of wildlife to adapt to new challenges and opportunities. Despite the ubiquity and importance of this trait, the molecular mechanisms underlying repeatable individual differences in neophobia in wild animals are poorly understood. We evaluated wild-caught house sparrows (Passer domesticus) for neophobia in the lab using novel object tests. We then selected a subset of neophobic and non-neophobic individuals (n = 3 of each, all females) and extracted RNA from four brain regions involved in learning, memory, threat perception, and executive function: striatum, caudal dorsomedial hippocampus, medial ventral arcopallium, and caudolateral nidopallium (NCL). Our analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) used 11,889 gene regions annotated in the house sparrow reference genome for which we had an average of 25.7 million mapped reads/sample. PERMANOVA identified significant effects of brain region, phenotype (neophobic vs. non-neophobic), and a brain region by phenotype interaction. Comparing neophobic and non-neophobic birds revealed constitutive differences in DEGs in three of the four brain regions examined: hippocampus (12% of the transcriptome significantly differentially expressed), striatum (4%) and NCL (3%). DEGs included important known neuroendocrine mediators of learning, memory, executive function, and anxiety behavior, including serotonin receptor 5A, dopamine receptors 1, 2 and 5 (downregulated in neophobic birds), and estrogen receptor beta (upregulated in neophobic birds). These results suggest that some of the behavioral differences between phenotypes may be due to underlying gene expression differences in the brain. The large number of DEGs in neophobic and non-neophobic birds also implies that there are major differences in neural function between the two phenotypes that could affect a wide variety of behavioral traits beyond neophobia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine R. Lattin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Tosha R. Kelly
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America
| | - Morgan W. Kelly
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America
| | - Kevin M. Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, United States of America
- Center for Coastal Marine Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, United States of America
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8
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Age-related reduction of hemispheric asymmetry by pigeons: A behavioral and FDG-PET imaging investigation of visual discrimination. Learn Behav 2022; 50:125-139. [DOI: 10.3758/s13420-021-00507-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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9
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Ströckens F, Neves K, Kirchem S, Schwab C, Herculano-Houzel S, Güntürkün O. High associative neuron numbers could drive cognitive performance in corvid species. J Comp Neurol 2022; 530:1588-1605. [PMID: 34997767 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Corvids possess cognitive skills, matching those of non-human primates. However, how these species with their small brains achieve such feats remains elusive. Recent studies suggest that cognitive capabilities could be based on the total numbers of telencephalic neurons. Here we extend this hypothesis further and posit that especially high neuron counts in associative pallial areas drive flexible, complex cognition. If true, avian species like corvids should specifically accumulate neurons in the avian associative areas meso- and nidopallium. To test the hypothesis, we analyzed the neuronal composition of telencephalic areas in corvids and non-corvids (chicken, pigeons, and ostriches - the species with the largest bird brain). The overall number of pallial neurons in corvids was much higher than in chicken and pigeons and comparable to those of ostriches. However, neuron numbers in the associative mesopallium and nidopallium were twice as high in corvids and, in correlation with these associative areas, the corvid subpallium also contained high neuron numbers. These findings support our hypothesis that large absolute numbers of associative pallial neurons contribute to cognitive flexibility and complexity and are key to explain why crows are smart. Since meso/nidopallial and subpallial areas scale jointly, it is conceivable that associative pallio-striatal loops play a similar role in executive decision-making as described in primates. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Ströckens
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, 44780, Germany.,C. & O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, 40225, Germany
| | - Kleber Neves
- Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CEP 21941-902, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Sina Kirchem
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, 44780, Germany
| | - Christine Schwab
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Suzana Herculano-Houzel
- Department of Psychology, Department of Biological Sciences, Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
| | - Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Biopsychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, 44780, Germany
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10
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Pendergraft LT, Marzluff JM, Cross DJ, Shimizu T, Templeton CN. American Crow Brain Activity in Response to Conspecific Vocalizations Changes When Food Is Present. Front Physiol 2021; 12:766345. [PMID: 34867472 PMCID: PMC8637333 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.766345] [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: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interaction among animals can occur under many contexts, such as during foraging. Our knowledge of the regions within an avian brain associated with social interaction is limited to the regions activated by a single context or sensory modality. We used 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) to examine American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) brain activity in response to conditions associated with communal feeding. Using a paired approach, we exposed crows to either a visual stimulus (the sight of food), an audio stimulus (the sound of conspecifics vocalizing while foraging) or both audio/visual stimuli presented simultaneously and compared to their brain activity in response to a control stimulus (an empty stage). We found two regions, the nucleus taenia of the amygdala (TnA) and a medial portion of the caudal nidopallium, that showed increased activity in response to the multimodal combination of stimuli but not in response to either stimulus when presented unimodally. We also found significantly increased activity in the lateral septum and medially within the nidopallium in response to both the audio-only and the combined audio/visual stimuli. We did not find any differences in activation in response to the visual stimulus by itself. We discuss how these regions may be involved in the processing of multimodal stimuli in the context of social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- LomaJohn T Pendergraft
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - John M Marzluff
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Donna J Cross
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Toru Shimizu
- Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
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11
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Day LB, Helmhout W, Pano G, Olsson U, Hoeksema JD, Lindsay WR. Correlated evolution of acrobatic display and both neural and somatic phenotypic traits in manakins (Pipridae). Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:1343-1362. [PMID: 34143205 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Brightly colored manakin (Aves: Pipridae) males are known for performing acrobatic displays punctuated by non-vocal sounds (sonations) in order to attract dull colored females. The complexity of the display sequence and assortment of display elements involved (e.g., sonations, acrobatic maneuvers, and cooperative performances) varies considerably across manakin species. Species-specific display elements coevolve with display-distinct specializations of the neuroanatomical, muscular, endocrine, cardiovascular, and skeletal systems in the handful of species studied. Conducting a broader comparative study, we previously found positive associations between display complexity and both brain mass and body mass across 8 manakin genera, indicating selection for neural and somatic expansion to accommodate display elaboration. Whether this gross morphological variation is due to overall brain and body mass expansion (concerted evolution) versus size increases in only functionally relevant brain regions and growth of particular body ("somatic") features (mosaic evolution) remains to be explored. Here we test the hypothesis that cross-species variation in male brain mass and body mass is driven by mosaic evolution. We predicted positive associations between display complexity and variation in the volume of the cerebellum and sensorimotor arcopallium, brain regions which have roles in sensorimotor processes, and learning and performance of precisely timed and sequenced thoughts and movements, respectively. In contrast, we predicted no associations between the volume of a limbic arcopallial nucleus or a visual thalamic nucleus and display complexity as these regions have no-specific functional relationship to display behavior. For somatic features, we predicted that the relationship between body mass and complexity would not include contributions of tarsus length based on a recent study suggesting selection on tarsus length is less labile than body mass. We tested our hypotheses in males from 12 manakin species and a closely related flycatcher. Our analyses support mosaic evolution of neural and somatic features functionally relevant to display and indicate sexual selection for acrobatic complexity may increase the capacity for procedural learning via cerebellar enlargement and maneuverability via a reduction in tarsus length in species with lower overall complexity scores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lainy B Day
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA.,Neuroscience Minor, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Wilson Helmhout
- Neuroscience Minor, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Glendin Pano
- Neuroscience Minor, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Urban Olsson
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 18, SE-413-90 Gothenburg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Box 461, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jason D Hoeksema
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Willow R Lindsay
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, 30 University Avenue, University, MS 38677, USA.,Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 18, SE-413-90 Gothenburg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Box 461, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
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12
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Orr TJ, Hayssen V. The Female Snark Is Still a Boojum: Looking toward the Future of Studying Female Reproductive Biology. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 60:782-795. [PMID: 32702114 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icaa091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Philosophical truths are hidden in Lewis Carroll's nonsense poems, such as "The hunting of the snark." When the poem is used as a scientific allegory, a snark stands for the pursuit of scientific truth, while a boojum is a spurious discovery. In the study of female biology, boojums have been the result of the use of cultural stereotypes to frame hypotheses and methodologies. Although female reproduction is key for the continuation of sexually reproducing species, not only have females been understudied in many regards, but also data have commonly been interpreted in the context of now-outdated social mores. Spurious discoveries, boojums, are the result. In this article, we highlight specific gaps in our knowledge of female reproductive biology and provide a jumping-off point for future research. We discuss the promise of emerging methodologies (e.g., micro-CT scanning, high-throughput sequencing, proteomics, big-data analysis, CRISPR-Cas9, and viral vector technology) that can yield insights into previously cryptic processes and features. For example, in mice, deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing via chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing is already unveiling how epigenetics lead to sex differences in brain development. Similarly, new explorations, including microbiome research, are rapidly debunking dogmas such as the notion of the "sterile womb." Finally, we highlight how understanding female reproductive biology is well suited to the National Science Foundation's big idea, "Predicting Rules of Life." Studies of female reproductive biology will enable scholars to (1) traverse levels of biological organization from reproductive proteins at the molecular level, through anatomical details of the ovum and female reproductive tract, into physiological aspects of whole-organism performance, leading to behaviors associated with mating and maternal care, and eventually reaching population structure and ecology; (2) discover generalizable rules such as the co-evolution of maternal-offspring phenotypes in gestation and lactation; and (3) predict the impacts of changes to reproductive timing when the reliability of environmental cues becomes unpredictable. Studies in these key areas relative to female reproduction are sure to further our understanding across a range of diverse taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teri J Orr
- Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
| | - Virginia Hayssen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA
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13
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Clark WJ, Colombo M. The functional architecture, receptive field characteristics, and representation of objects in the visual network of the pigeon brain. Prog Neurobiol 2020; 195:101781. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Revised: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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14
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Goumas M, Lee VE, Boogert NJ, Kelley LA, Thornton A. The Role of Animal Cognition in Human-Wildlife Interactions. Front Psychol 2020; 11:589978. [PMID: 33250826 PMCID: PMC7672032 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.589978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans have a profound effect on the planet's ecosystems, and unprecedented rates of human population growth and urbanization have brought wild animals into increasing contact with people. For many species, appropriate responses toward humans are likely to be critical to survival and reproductive success. Although numerous studies have investigated the impacts of human activity on biodiversity and species distributions, relatively few have examined the effects of humans on the behavioral responses of animals during human-wildlife encounters, and the cognitive processes underpinning those responses. Furthermore, while humans often present a significant threat to animals, the presence or behavior of people may be also associated with benefits, such as food rewards. In scenarios where humans vary in their behavior, wild animals would be expected to benefit from the ability to discriminate between dangerous, neutral and rewarding people. Additionally, individual differences in cognitive and behavioral phenotypes and past experiences with humans may affect animals' ability to exploit human-dominated environments and respond appropriately to human cues. In this review, we examine the cues that wild animals use to modulate their behavioral responses toward humans, such as human facial features and gaze direction. We discuss when wild animals are expected to attend to certain cues, how information is used, and the cognitive mechanisms involved. We consider how the cognitive abilities of wild animals are likely to be under selection by humans and therefore influence population and community composition. We conclude by highlighting the need for long-term studies on free-living, wild animals to fully understand the causes and ecological consequences of variation in responses to human cues. The effects of humans on wildlife behavior are likely to be substantial, and a detailed understanding of these effects is key to implementing effective conservation strategies and managing human-wildlife conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeleine Goumas
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, United Kingdom
| | - Victoria E. Lee
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, United Kingdom
- Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), Midlothian, United Kingdom
| | - Neeltje J. Boogert
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, United Kingdom
| | - Laura A. Kelley
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, United Kingdom
| | - Alex Thornton
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, United Kingdom
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15
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Zanette LY, Clinchy M. Ecology and Neurobiology of Fear in Free-Living Wildlife. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS 2020. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-011720-124613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The ecology of fear concerns the population-, community-, and ecosystem-level consequences of the behavioral interactions between predators and prey, i.e., the aggregate impacts of individual responses to life-threatening events. We review new experiments demonstrating that fear itself is powerful enough to affect the population growth rate in free-living wild birds and mammals, and fear of large carnivores—or the human super predator—can cause trophic cascades affecting plant and invertebrate abundance. Life-threatening events like escaping a predator can have enduring, even lifelong, effects on the brain, and new interdisciplinary research on the neurobiology of fear in wild animals is both providing insights into post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and reinforcing the likely commonality of population- and community-level effects of fear in nature. Failing to consider fear thus risks dramatically underestimating the total impact predators can have on prey populations and the critical role predator-prey interactions can play in shaping ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana Y. Zanette
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada;,
| | - Michael Clinchy
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada;,
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16
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Birch J, Schnell AK, Clayton NS. Dimensions of Animal Consciousness. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:789-801. [PMID: 32830051 PMCID: PMC7116194 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
How does consciousness vary across the animal kingdom? Are some animals 'more conscious' than others? This article presents a multidimensional framework for understanding interspecies variation in states of consciousness. The framework distinguishes five key dimensions of variation: perceptual richness, evaluative richness, integration at a time, integration across time, and self-consciousness. For each dimension, existing experiments that bear on it are reviewed and future experiments are suggested. By assessing a given species against each dimension, we can construct a consciousness profile for that species. On this framework, there is no single scale along which species can be ranked as more or less conscious. Rather, each species has its own distinctive consciousness profile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Birch
- Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK.
| | - Alexandra K Schnell
- Comparative Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Nicola S Clayton
- Comparative Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
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17
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Brecht KF, Nieder A. Parting self from others: Individual and self-recognition in birds. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 116:99-108. [PMID: 32534901 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Individual recognition is the ability to differentiate between conspecifics based on their individual features. It forms the basis of many complex communicative and social behaviours. Here, we review studies investigating individual recognition in the auditory and visual domain in birds. It is well established that auditory signals are used by many birds to discriminate conspecifics. In songbirds, the neuronal structures underpinning auditory recognition are associated with the song system. Individual recognition in the visual domain has mainly been explored in chickens and pigeons, and is less well understood. Currently it is unknown which visual cues birds use to identify conspecifics, and whether they have cortical areas dedicated to processing individual features. Moreover, whether birds can recognise themselves visually, as evidenced by mirror self-recognition, remains controversial. In the auditory domain, the responses of neurons in the song system suggest identification of the bird's own song. The surveyed behavioural and neural findings can provide a framework for more controlled investigations of individual recognition in birds and other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina F Brecht
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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18
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Swift KN, Marzluff JM, Templeton CN, Shimizu T, Cross DJ. Brain activity underlying American crow processing of encounters with dead conspecifics. Behav Brain Res 2020; 385:112546. [PMID: 32035868 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Animals utilize a variety of auditory and visual cues to navigate the landscape of fear. For some species, including corvids, dead conspecifics appear to act as one such visual cue of danger, and prompt alarm calling by attending conspecifics. Which brain regions mediate responses to dead conspecifics, and how this compares to other threats, has so far only been speculative. Using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) we contrast the metabolic response to visual and auditory cues associated with a dead conspecific among five a priori selected regions in the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) brain: the hippocampus, nidopallium caudolaterale, striatum, amygdala, and the septum. Using a repeated-measures, fully balanced approach, we exposed crows to four stimuli: a dead conspecific, a dead song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), conspecific alarm calls given in response to a dead crow, and conspecific food begging calls. We find that in response to observations of a dead crow, crows show significant activity in areas associated with higher-order decision-making (NCL), but not in areas associated with social behaviors or fear learning. We do not find strong differences in activation between hearing alarm calls and food begging calls; both activate the NCL. Lastly, repeated exposures to negative stimuli had a marginal effect on later increasing the subjects' brain activity in response to control stimuli, suggesting that crows might quickly learn from negative experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaeli N Swift
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Seattle, WA, United States.
| | - John M Marzluff
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Seattle, WA, United States
| | | | - Toru Shimizu
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
| | - Donna J Cross
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
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19
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Zanette LY, Hobbs EC, Witterick LE, MacDougall-Shackleton SA, Clinchy M. Predator-induced fear causes PTSD-like changes in the brains and behaviour of wild animals. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11474. [PMID: 31391473 PMCID: PMC6685979 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47684-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Predator-induced fear is both, one of the most common stressors employed in animal model studies of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a major focus of research in ecology. There has been a growing discourse between these disciplines but no direct empirical linkage. We endeavoured to provide this empirical linkage by conducting experiments drawing upon the strengths of both disciplines. Exposure to a natural cue of predator danger (predator vocalizations), had enduring effects of at least 7 days duration involving both, a heightened sensitivity to predator danger (indicative of an enduring memory of fear), and elevated neuronal activation in both the amygdala and hippocampus – in wild birds (black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus), exposed to natural environmental and social experiences in the 7 days following predator exposure. Our results demonstrate enduring effects on the brain and behaviour, meeting the criteria to be considered an animal model of PTSD – in a wild animal, which are of a nature and degree which can be anticipated could affect fecundity and survival in free-living wildlife. We suggest our findings support both the proposition that PTSD is not unnatural, and that long-lasting effects of predator-induced fear, with likely effects on fecundity and survival, are the norm in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana Y Zanette
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada.
| | - Emma C Hobbs
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Lauren E Witterick
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Scott A MacDougall-Shackleton
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada.,The Advanced Facility for Avian Research, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Michael Clinchy
- Department of Biology, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
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20
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Lattin CR, Merullo DP, Riters LV, Carson RE. In vivo imaging of D 2 receptors and corticosteroids predict behavioural responses to captivity stress in a wild bird. Sci Rep 2019; 9:10407. [PMID: 31320692 PMCID: PMC6639298 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46845-x] [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: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual physiological variation may underlie individual differences in behaviour in response to stressors. This study tested the hypothesis that individual variation in dopamine and corticosteroid physiology in wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus, n = 15) would significantly predict behaviour and weight loss in response to a long-term stressor, captivity. We found that individuals that coped better with captivity (fewer anxiety-related behaviours, more time spent feeding, higher body mass) had lower baseline and higher stress-induced corticosteroid titres at capture. Birds with higher striatal D2 receptor binding (examined using positron emission tomography (PET) with 11C-raclopride 24 h post-capture) spent more time feeding in captivity, but weighed less, than birds with lower D2 receptor binding. In the subset of individuals imaged a second time, D2 receptor binding decreased in captivity in moulting birds, and larger D2 decreases were associated with increased anxiety behaviours 2 and 4 weeks post-capture. This suggests changes in dopaminergic systems could be one physiological mechanism underlying negative behavioural effects of chronic stress. Non-invasive technologies like PET have the potential to transform our understanding of links between individual variation in physiology and behaviour and elucidate which neuroendocrine phenotypes predict stress resilience, a question with important implications for both humans and wildlife.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine R Lattin
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. .,Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
| | - Devin P Merullo
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Lauren V Riters
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Richard E Carson
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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21
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Salerno M, Ferrer E, Wei S, Li X, Gao W, Ouellette D, Balanoff A, Vaska P. Behavioral neuroimaging in birds using PET. J Neurosci Methods 2019; 317:157-164. [PMID: 30710608 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Revised: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Birds comprise the most diverse group of terrestrial vertebrates. This success likely is related to the evolution of powered flight over 75 mya. Modern approaches for studying brain function, however, have yet to be fully adapted and applied to birds, especially as they relate to specific behaviors including flight. New method: We have developed a comprehensive set of in vivo experimental methods utilizing PET imaging with F-18 labeled fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to study regional changes in metabolism specifically related to flight, yet applicable to other behaviors as well. It incorporates approaches for selection of species, behavioral/imaging paradigm, animal preparation, radiotracer injection route, image quantification, and image analysis via an enhanced brain atlas. We also carried out preliminary modeling studies to better understand tracer kinetics. RESULTS The methods were successful in identifying brain regions statistically associated with flight using only 8 animals. Peak brain uptake of FDG between birds and rodents is similar despite much higher blood glucose levels in birds. We also confirmed that brain uptake of FDG steadily decreases after the initial peak and provide evidence that it may be related to greater dephosphorylation of FDG phosphate than that observed in mammals. Comparison with existing methods: FDG PET has been used in only a few studies of the bird brain. We introduce a new species, more realistic flight behavior, paired (test/retest) design, and improved quantification and analysis approaches. CONCLUSIONS The proposed imaging protocol is non-invasive yet sensitive to regional metabolic changes in the bird brain related to behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Salerno
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5230, USA
| | - Elizabeth Ferrer
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-8081, USA
| | - Shouyi Wei
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5230, USA
| | - Xiang Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5230, USA
| | - Wenrong Gao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5230, USA
| | - David Ouellette
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5230, USA
| | - Amy Balanoff
- Johns Hopkins University, Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA; American Museum of Natural History, Division of Paleontology, New York, NY, 10024, USA.
| | - Paul Vaska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5230, USA; Department of Radiology, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
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22
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Clark WJ, Porter B, Colombo M. Searching for Face-Category Representation in the Avian Visual Forebrain. Front Physiol 2019; 10:140. [PMID: 30873042 PMCID: PMC6400864 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual information is processed hierarchically along a ventral ('what') pathway that terminates with categorical representation of biologically relevant visual percepts (such as faces) in the mammalian extrastriate visual cortex. How birds solve face and object representation without a neocortex is a long-standing problem in evolutionary neuroscience, though multiple lines of evidence suggest that these abilities arise from circuitry fundamentally similar to the extrastriate visual cortex. The aim of the present experiment was to determine whether birds also exhibit a categorical representation of the avian face-region in four visual forebrain structures of the tectofugal visual pathway: entopallium (ENTO), mesopallium ventrolaterale (MVL), nidopallium frontolaterale (NFL), and area temporo-parieto-occipitalis (TPO). We performed electrophysiological recordings from the right and left hemispheres of 13 pigeons while they performed a Go/No-Go task that required them to discriminate between two sets of stimuli that included images of pigeon faces. No neurons fired selectively to only faces in either ENTO, NFL, MVL, or TPO. Birds' predisposition to attend to the local-features of stimuli may influence the perception of faces as a global combination of features, and explain our observed absence of face-selective neurons. The implementation of naturalistic viewing paradigms in conjunction with electrophysiological and fMRI techniques has the potential to promote and uncover the global processing of visual objects to determine whether birds exhibit category-selective patches in the tectofugal visual forebrain.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Blake Porter
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Michael Colombo
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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23
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Sen S, Parishar P, Pundir AS, Reiner A, Iyengar S. The expression of tyrosine hydroxylase and DARPP-32 in the house crow (Corvus splendens) brain. J Comp Neurol 2019; 527:1801-1836. [PMID: 30697741 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Revised: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Birds of the family Corvidae which includes diverse species such as crows, rooks, ravens, magpies, jays, and jackdaws are known for their amazing abilities at problem-solving. Since the catecholaminergic system, especially the neurotransmitter dopamine, plays a role in cognition, we decided to study the distribution of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of catecholamines in the brain of house crows (Corvus splendens). We also studied the expression of DARPP-32 (dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein), which is expressed in dopaminoceptive neurons. Our results demonstrated that as in other avian species, the expression of both TH and DARPP-32 was highest in the house crow striatum. The caudolateral nidopallium (NCL, the avian analogue of the mammalian prefrontal cortex) could be differentiated from the surrounding pallial regions based on a larger number of TH-positive "baskets" of fibers around neurons in this region and greater intensity of DARPP-32 staining in the neuropil in this region. House crows also possessed distinct nuclei in their brains which corresponded to song control regions in other songbirds. Whereas immunoreactivity for TH was higher in the vocal control region Area X compared to the surrounding MSt (medial striatum) in house crows, staining in RA and HVC was not as prominent. Furthermore, the arcopallial song control regions RA (nucleus robustus arcopallialis) and AId (intermediate arcopallium) were strikingly negative for DARPP-32 staining, in contrast to the surrounding arcopallium. Patterns of immunoreactivity for TH and DARPP-32 in "limbic" areas such as the hippocampus, septum, and extended amygdala have also been described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shankhamala Sen
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Gurugram, Haryana, India
| | - Pooja Parishar
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Gurugram, Haryana, India
| | - Arvind Singh Pundir
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Gurugram, Haryana, India
| | - Anton Reiner
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, United States
| | - Soumya Iyengar
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Gurugram, Haryana, India
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24
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Gaynor KM, Brown JS, Middleton AD, Power ME, Brashares JS. Landscapes of Fear: Spatial Patterns of Risk Perception and Response. Trends Ecol Evol 2019; 34:355-368. [PMID: 30745252 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 221] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Animals experience varying levels of predation risk as they navigate heterogeneous landscapes, and behavioral responses to perceived risk can structure ecosystems. The concept of the landscape of fear has recently become central to describing this spatial variation in risk, perception, and response. We present a framework linking the landscape of fear, defined as spatial variation in prey perception of risk, to the underlying physical landscape and predation risk, and to resulting patterns of prey distribution and antipredator behavior. By disambiguating the mechanisms through which prey perceive risk and incorporate fear into decision making, we can better quantify the nonlinear relationship between risk and response and evaluate the relative importance of the landscape of fear across taxa and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn M Gaynor
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. https://twitter.com/@kaitlyngaynor%20
| | - Joel S Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor Street (MC 066), Chicago, IL 60607, USA; Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Dr., Tampa, FL 33612, USA; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Arthur D Middleton
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Mary E Power
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, 3060 Valley Life Sciences Building #3140, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Justin S Brashares
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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25
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Voigt C, Hirschenhauser K, Leitner S. Neural activation following offensive aggression in Japanese quail. Biol Open 2018; 7:bio.038026. [PMID: 30404900 PMCID: PMC6310879 DOI: 10.1242/bio.038026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Aggression is a fundamental part of animal social behaviour. In avian species, little is known about its neural representation. In particular, neural activity following offensive aggression has not been studied in detail. Here, we investigated the patterns of brain activation using immediate-early gene (IEG) expression in male Japanese quail that showed pronounced aggressive behaviours during a 30 min male–male interaction and compared them to those of males that did not interact with a conspecific. In aggressive males, we found a massive induction of the IEG ZENK in pallial brain structures such as the intermediate medial mesopallium, the caudomedial mesopallium and the intermediate medial nidopallium. To a lesser extent, activation was observed in subpallial areas such as the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala and in the medial portion of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Our data suggest that the modulation of aggressive behaviour involves the integration of multisensory information. Summary: The manuscript describes the pronounced activation of the immediate early gene ZENK in the pallium of male Japanese quails following offensive aggressive behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelia Voigt
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, D-82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Katharina Hirschenhauser
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, D-82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Stefan Leitner
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, D-82319 Seewiesen, Germany
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26
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Van der Linden A, Balthazart J. Rapid changes in auditory processing in songbirds following acute aromatase inhibition as assessed by fMRI. Horm Behav 2018; 104:63-76. [PMID: 29605635 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2018.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2018] [Revised: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 03/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Contribution to Special Issue on Fast effects of steroids. This review introduces functional MRI (fMRI) as an outstanding tool to assess rapid effects of sex steroids on auditory processing in seasonal songbirds. We emphasize specific advantages of this method as compared to other more conventional and invasive methods used for this purpose and summarize an exemplary auditory fMRI study performed on male starlings exposed to different types of starling song before and immediately after the inhibition of aromatase activity by an i.p. injection of Vorozole™. We describe how most challenges that relate to the necessity to anesthetize subjects and minimize image- and sound-artifacts can be overcome in order to obtain a voxel-based 3D-representation of changes in auditory brain activity to various sound stimuli before and immediately after a pharmacologically-induced depletion of endogenous estrogens. Analysis of the fMRI data by assumption-free statistical methods identified fast specific changes in activity in the auditory brain regions that were stimulus-specific, varying over different seasons, and in several instances lateralized to the left side of the brain. This set of results illustrates the unique features of fMRI that provides opportunities to localize and quantify the brain responses to rapid changes in hormonal status. fMRI offers a new image-guided research strategy in which the spatio-temporal profile of fast neuromodulations can be identified and linked to specific behavioral inputs or outputs. This approach can also be combined with more localized invasive methods to investigate the mechanisms underlying the observed neural changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annemie Van der Linden
- Bio-Imaging Laboratory, University of Antwerp, CDE, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Jacques Balthazart
- Research Group in Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
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27
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Gold MEL, Norell MA, Budassi M, Vaska P, Schulz D. Rapid 18F-FDG Uptake in Brain of Awake, Behaving Rat and Anesthetized Chicken has Implications for Behavioral PET Studies in Species With High Metabolisms. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:115. [PMID: 29922136 PMCID: PMC5996747 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain-behavior studies using 18F-FDG PET aim to reveal brain regions that become active during behavior. In standard protocols, 18F-FDG is injected, the behavior is executed during 30–60 min of tracer uptake, and then the animal is anesthetized and scanned. Hence, the uptake of 18F-FDG is not itself observed and could, in fact, be complete in very little time. This has implications for behavioral studies because uptake is assumed to reflect concurrent behavior. Here, we utilized a new, miniature PET scanner termed RatCAP to measure uptake simultaneously with behavior. We employed a novel injection protocol in which we administered 18F-FDG (i.v.) four times over two 2 h to allow for repeated measurements and the correlation of changes in uptake and behavioral activity. Furthermore, using standard PET methods, we explored the effects of injection route on uptake time in chickens, a model for avians, for which PET studies are just beginning. We found that in the awake, behaving rat most of the 18F-FDG uptake occurred within minutes and overlapped to a large extent with 18F-FDG data taken from longer uptake periods. By contrast, behavior which occurred within minutes of the 18F-FDG infusion differed markedly from the behavior that occurred during later uptake periods. Accordingly, we found that changes in 18F-FDG uptake in the striatum, motor cortex and cerebellum relative to different reference regions significantly predicted changes in behavioral activity during the scan, if the time bins used for correlation were near the injection times of 18F-FDG. However, when morphine was also injected during the scan, which completely abolished behavioral activity for over 50 min, a large proportion of the variance in behavioral activity was also explained by the uptake data from the entire scan. In anesthetized chickens, tracer uptake was complete in about 80 min with s.c. injection, but 8 min with i.v. injection. In conclusion, uptake time needs to be taken into account to more accurately correlate PET and behavioral data in mammals and avians. Additionally, RatCAP together with multiple, successive injections of 18F-FDG may be useful to explore changes in uptake over time in relation to changes in behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria E L Gold
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, United States.,Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States.,Department of Biology, Suffolk University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, United States
| | - Michael Budassi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Paul Vaska
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States.,Department of Radiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States.,Biosciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, United States
| | - Daniela Schulz
- Department of Psychology, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey
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Proops L, Grounds K, Smith AV, McComb K. Animals Remember Previous Facial Expressions that Specific Humans Have Exhibited. Curr Biol 2018; 28:1428-1432.e4. [PMID: 29706519 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2017] [Revised: 02/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
For humans, facial expressions are important social signals, and how we perceive specific individuals may be influenced by subtle emotional cues that they have given us in past encounters. A wide range of animal species are also capable of discriminating the emotions of others through facial expressions [1-5], and it is clear that remembering emotional experiences with specific individuals could have clear benefits for social bonding and aggression avoidance when these individuals are encountered again. Although there is evidence that non-human animals are capable of remembering the identity of individuals who have directly harmed them [6, 7], it is not known whether animals can form lasting memories of specific individuals simply by observing subtle emotional expressions that they exhibit on their faces. Here we conducted controlled experiments in which domestic horses were presented with a photograph of an angry or happy human face and several hours later saw the person who had given the expression in a neutral state. Short-term exposure to the facial expression was enough to generate clear differences in subsequent responses to that individual (but not to a different mismatched person), consistent with the past angry expression having been perceived negatively and the happy expression positively. Both humans were blind to the photograph that the horses had seen. Our results provide clear evidence that some non-human animals can effectively eavesdrop on the emotional state cues that humans reveal on a moment-to-moment basis, using their memory of these to guide future interactions with particular individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leanne Proops
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK; Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2DY, UK.
| | - Kate Grounds
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
| | - Amy Victoria Smith
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
| | - Karen McComb
- Mammal Vocal Communication and Cognition Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK.
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29
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Stoddard MC, Hauber ME. Colour, vision and coevolution in avian brood parasitism. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 372:rstb.2016.0339. [PMID: 28533456 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The coevolutionary interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts provide a powerful system for investigating the diversity of animal coloration. Specifically, reciprocal selection pressure applied by hosts and brood parasites can give rise to novel forms and functions of animal coloration, which largely differ from those that arise when selection is imposed by predators or mates. In the study of animal colours, avian brood parasite-host dynamics therefore invite special consideration. Rapid advances across disciplines have paved the way for an integrative study of colour and vision in brood parasite-host systems. We now know that visually driven host defences and host life history have selected for a suite of phenotypic adaptations in parasites, including mimicry, crypsis and supernormal stimuli. This sometimes leads to vision-based host counter-adaptations and increased parasite trickery. Here, we review vision-based adaptations that arise in parasite-host interactions, emphasizing that these adaptations can be visual/sensory, cognitive or phenotypic in nature. We highlight recent breakthroughs in chemistry, genomics, neuroscience and computer vision, and we conclude by identifying important future directions. Moving forward, it will be essential to identify the genetic and neural bases of adaptation and to compare vision-based adaptations to those arising in other sensory modalities.This article is part of the themed issue 'Animal coloration: production, perception, function and application'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Caswell Stoddard
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College and Graduate Center of the City University of New York, NY, USA.,Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
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30
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McIvor GE, Lee VE, Thornton A. Testing social learning of anti-predator responses in juvenile jackdaws: the importance of accounting for levels of agitation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171571. [PMID: 29410861 PMCID: PMC5792938 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2017] [Accepted: 12/11/2017] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Social learning is often assumed to help young animals respond appropriately to potential threats in the environment. We brought wild, juvenile jackdaws briefly into captivity to test whether short exposures to conspecific vocalizations are sufficient to promote anti-predator learning. Individuals were presented with one of two models-a stuffed fox representing a genuine threat, or a toy elephant simulating a novel predator. Following an initial baseline presentation, juveniles were trained by pairing models with either adult mobbing calls, indicating danger, or contact calls suggesting no danger. In a final test phase with no playbacks, birds appeared to have habituated to the elephant, regardless of training, but responses to the fox remained high throughout, suggesting juveniles already recognized it as a predator before the experiment began. Training with mobbing calls did seem to generate elevated escape responses, but this was likely to be a carry-over effect of the playback in the previous trial. Overall, we found little evidence for social learning. Instead, individuals' responses were mainly driven by their level of agitation immediately preceding each presentation. These results highlight the importance of accounting for agitation in studies of anti-predator learning, and whenever animals are held in captivity for short periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillam E. McIvor
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | | | - Alex Thornton
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
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31
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Lattin CR, Emerson MA, Gallezot JD, Mulnix T, Brown JE, Carson RE. A 3D-printed modular device for imaging the brain of small birds. J Neurosci Methods 2018; 293:183-190. [PMID: 28988856 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Revised: 09/18/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND One potential barrier to using in vivo imaging in any new animal species is solving the basic problem of how to hold animals safely and securely during scans. NEW METHOD In this paper, we describe the design, fabrication, use, and positional reproducibility of a 3D-printed plastic device (the Avian Imaging Device, or AID) for imaging the brain of 1 or 2 small songbirds. We designed two different types of head cones to use with this device: one that was not contoured and designed for anesthesia induction, and one contoured to the shape of a house sparrow head, designed to be used with a pre-anesthetized animal. RESULTS Compared to no holder, using the AID with both contoured and non-contoured head cones significantly reduced the amount of translation necessary to align the head in pairs of CT scans (by 78% and 90%, respectively); using the contoured head cone also significantly reduced the amount of rotation necessary for head alignment in registering pairs of scans (by 90%). COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S) Using an animal holder that can not only securely hold animals but which has high positional reproducibility is essential to take advantage of the maximum resolution possible with small animal imaging. 3D-printed materials are also compatible with PET and CT, environmentally stable, and fast and inexpensive to make. CONCLUSIONS Researchers can learn from the design of the AID and use our CAD models as a starting point for fabricating devices for multiple small-animal imaging needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine R Lattin
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Maxwell A Emerson
- Yale Center for Engineering, Innovation & Design, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Tim Mulnix
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - J Elliott Brown
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Richard E Carson
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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Lattin CR, Stabile FA, Carson RE. Estradiol modulates neural response to conspecific and heterospecific song in female house sparrows: An in vivo positron emission tomography study. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182875. [PMID: 28832614 PMCID: PMC5568339 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [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: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Although there is growing evidence that estradiol modulates female perception of male sexual signals, relatively little research has focused on female auditory processing. We used in vivo 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to examine the neuronal effects of estradiol and conspecific song in female house sparrows (Passer domesticus). We assessed brain glucose metabolism, a measure of neuronal activity, in females with empty implants, estradiol implants, and empty implants ~1 month after estradiol implant removal. Females were exposed to conspecific or heterospecific songs immediately prior to imaging. The activity of brain regions involved in auditory perception did not differ between females with empty implants exposed to conspecific vs. heterospecific song, but neuronal activity was significantly reduced in females with estradiol implants exposed to heterospecific song. Furthermore, our within-individual design revealed that changes in brain activity due to high estradiol were actually greater several weeks after peak hormone exposure. Overall, this study demonstrates that PET imaging is a powerful tool for assessing large-scale changes in brain activity in living songbirds, and suggests that after breeding is done, specific environmental and physiological cues are necessary for estradiol-stimulated females to lose the selectivity they display in neural response to conspecific song.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine R. Lattin
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale Positron Emission Tomography Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Frank A. Stabile
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Richard E. Carson
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale Positron Emission Tomography Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
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33
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Tokarev K, Hyland Bruno J, Ljubičić I, Kothari PJ, Helekar SA, Tchernichovski O, Voss HU. Sexual dimorphism in striatal dopaminergic responses promotes monogamy in social songbirds. eLife 2017; 6:25819. [PMID: 28826502 PMCID: PMC5584986 DOI: 10.7554/elife.25819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2017] [Accepted: 08/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In many songbird species, males sing to attract females and repel rivals. How can gregarious, non-territorial songbirds such as zebra finches, where females have access to numerous males, sustain monogamy? We found that the dopaminergic reward circuitry of zebra finches can simultaneously promote social cohesion and breeding boundaries. Surprisingly, in unmated males but not in females, striatal dopamine neurotransmission was elevated after hearing songs. Behaviorally too, unmated males but not females persistently exchanged mild punishments in return for songs. Song reinforcement diminished when dopamine receptors were blocked. In females, we observed song reinforcement exclusively to the mate’s song, although their striatal dopamine neurotransmission was only slightly elevated. These findings suggest that song-triggered dopaminergic activation serves a dual function in social songbirds: as low-threshold social reinforcement in males and as ultra-selective sexual reinforcement in females. Co-evolution of sexually dimorphic reinforcement systems can explain the coexistence of gregariousness and monogamy. While monogamy is rare within the animal kingdom, some species – including humans and many birds – can be highly social and yet sustain monogamous relationships. Zebra finches, for example, are among a number of species of songbirds in which numerous males and females live closely together but maintain monogamous partnerships. Male songbirds use their songs to attract females, who do not themselves sing. But if female birds are attracted to any male song, how do they manage to remain monogamous when surrounded by potential suitors? In songbirds, and in humans too, a region of the brain called the striatum regulates both social and sexual behaviors. It does this by modulating the release of a molecule called dopamine, which is the brain’s reward signal. Tokarev et al. show that hearing songs triggers dopamine release within the striatum of unattached male zebra finches, but has no such effect in single females. Unattached male songbirds will also put up with irritating puffs of air in exchange for being able to watch videos of singing birds, whereas unattached females will not. Female songbirds with partners will tolerate the air puffs, but only if the videos are accompanied with the songs of their own mate. These findings suggest that song serves as a generic social stimulus for zebra finch males, helping large numbers of birds to live together. By contrast, for a female zebra finch, the song of her partner is a highly selective sexual stimulus. These sex-specific responses to the same socially-relevant stimuli may explain how gregarious animals are able to maintain monogamous pair bonds. More generally, these results are a step towards understanding how brain reward systems regulate social interactions. Studying these mechanisms in songbird species with different social and mating systems could ultimately provide insights into social and sexual behavior in people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirill Tokarev
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, United States.,Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, United States
| | - Julia Hyland Bruno
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, United States.,Department of Psychology, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, United States
| | - Iva Ljubičić
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, United States.,Department of Biology, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, United States
| | - Paresh J Kothari
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, United States
| | - Santosh A Helekar
- Department of Neurology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, United States
| | - Ofer Tchernichovski
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, United States.,Department of Psychology, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, United States.,Department of Biology, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, United States
| | - Henning U Voss
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, United States
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34
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Putman BJ, Drury JP, Blumstein DT, Pauly GB. Fear no colors? Observer clothing color influences lizard escape behavior. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182146. [PMID: 28792983 PMCID: PMC5549895 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 07/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals often view humans as predators, leading to alterations in their behavior. Even nuanced aspects of human activity like clothing color affect animal behavior, but we lack an understanding of when and where such effects will occur. The species confidence hypothesis posits that birds are attracted to colors found on their bodies and repelled by non-body colors. Here, we extend this hypothesis taxonomically and conceptually to test whether this pattern is applicable in a non-avian reptile and to suggest that species should respond less fearfully to their sexually-selected signaling color. Responses to clothing color could also be impacted by habituation to humans, so we examine whether behavior varied between areas with low and high human activity. We quantified the effects of four T-shirt colors on flight initiation distances (FID) and on the ease of capture in western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis), and we accounted for detectability against the background environment. We found no differences in lizard behavior between sites. However, lizards tolerated the closest approaches and were most likely to be captured when approached with the T-shirt that resembled their sexually-selected signaling color. Because changes in individual behavior affect fitness, choice of clothing color by people, including tourists, hikers, and researchers, could impact wildlife populations and research outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Breanna J. Putman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Section of Herpetology and Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Jonathan P. Drury
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Gregory B. Pauly
- Section of Herpetology and Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
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35
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Ravens remember the nature of a single reciprocal interaction sequence over 2 days and even after a month. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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36
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Laiolo P. Phenotypic similarity in sympatric crow species: Evidence of social convergence? Evolution 2017; 71:1051-1060. [PMID: 28145581 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2016] [Revised: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Crows, rooks, and ravens (Corvus spp.) display marked morphological and voice similarities that have been hypothesized to stem from competitive interactions, as a case of nonaposematic mimicry. Here, I test predictions of the mimicry hypothesis at the macrovolutionary scale, examining whether species morphological and acoustic traits covary with those of coexisting congeners, and whether phenotypic similarity has facilitated the coexistence of related species after secondary contact. Body size and the temporal patterns of the commonest call display high levels of similarity among sympatric species, even after controlling for the effect of shared climate and habitat, and phylogenetic constraints in the production of variation. When sister species differed in these acoustic and morphological traits, their transition to secondary sympatry was delayed relative to those with more similar traits. No similarity was found in the sexual call of crows, suggesting that convergence occurs only when function does not favour maintenance of species-specific traits. Crow similarities in morphological and acoustic features may therefore be associated with coevolving interactions with congeners, in line with a broad array of studies documenting convergence among species that interact aggressively or forage communally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Laiolo
- Research Unit of Biodiversity (UO, CSIC, PA), Oviedo University, Campus de Mieres, 33600, Mieres, Spain
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37
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Abstract
Birds have evolved behavioral and morphological adaptations for powered flight. Many aspects of this transition are unknown, including the neuroanatomical changes that made flight possible [1]. To understand how the avian brain drives this complex behavior, we utilized positron emission tomography (PET) scanning and the tracer (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to document regional metabolic activity in the brain associated with a variety of locomotor behaviors. FDG studies are typically employed in rats [2] though the technology has been applied to birds [3]. We examined whole-brain function in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), trained to fly in a wind tunnel while metabolizing the tracer. Drawing on predictions from early anatomical studies [4], we hypothesized increased metabolic activity in the Wulst and functionally related visual brain regions during flight. We found that flight behaviors correlated positively with entopallia and Wulst activity, but negatively with thalamic activity.
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38
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Cauchoix M, Chaine AS. How Can We Study the Evolution of Animal Minds? Front Psychol 2016; 7:358. [PMID: 27014163 PMCID: PMC4791388 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Accepted: 02/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
During the last 50 years, comparative cognition and neurosciences have improved our understanding of animal minds while evolutionary ecology has revealed how selection acts on traits through evolutionary time. We describe how cognition can be subject to natural selection like any other biological trait and how this evolutionary approach can be used to understand the evolution of animal cognition. We recount how comparative and fitness methods have been used to understand the evolution of cognition and outline how these approaches could extend our understanding of cognition. The fitness approach, in particular, offers unprecedented opportunities to study the evolutionary mechanisms responsible for variation in cognition within species and could allow us to investigate both proximate (i.e., neural and developmental) and ultimate (i.e., ecological and evolutionary) underpinnings of animal cognition together. We highlight recent studies that have successfully shown that cognitive traits can be under selection, in particular by linking individual variation in cognition to fitness. To bridge the gap between cognitive variation and fitness consequences and to better understand why and how selection can occur on cognition, we end this review by proposing a more integrative approach to study contemporary selection on cognitive traits combining socio-ecological data, minimally invasive neuroscience methods and measurement of ecologically relevant behaviors linked to fitness. Our overall goal in this review is to build a bridge between cognitive neuroscientists and evolutionary biologists, illustrate how their research could be complementary, and encourage evolutionary ecologists to include explicit attention to cognitive processes in their studies of behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexis S Chaine
- Institute for Advanced Study in ToulouseToulouse, France; Station for Experimental Ecology in Moulis, CNRSMoulis, France
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39
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Davidson GL, Clayton NS, Thornton A. Wild jackdaws, Corvus monedula , recognize individual humans and may respond to gaze direction with defensive behaviour. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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40
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Dilks DD, Cook P, Weiller SK, Berns HP, Spivak M, Berns GS. Awake fMRI reveals a specialized region in dog temporal cortex for face processing. PeerJ 2015; 3:e1115. [PMID: 26290784 PMCID: PMC4540004 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2015] [Accepted: 06/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent behavioral evidence suggests that dogs, like humans and monkeys, are capable of visual face recognition. But do dogs also exhibit specialized cortical face regions similar to humans and monkeys? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in six dogs trained to remain motionless during scanning without restraint or sedation, we found a region in the canine temporal lobe that responded significantly more to movies of human faces than to movies of everyday objects. Next, using a new stimulus set to investigate face selectivity in this predefined candidate dog face area, we found that this region responded similarly to images of human faces and dog faces, yet significantly more to both human and dog faces than to images of objects. Such face selectivity was not found in dog primary visual cortex. Taken together, these findings: (1) provide the first evidence for a face-selective region in the temporal cortex of dogs, which cannot be explained by simple low-level visual feature extraction; (2) reveal that neural machinery dedicated to face processing is not unique to primates; and (3) may help explain dogs’ exquisite sensitivity to human social cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel D Dilks
- Department of Psychology, Emory University , Atlanta, GA , USA
| | - Peter Cook
- Department of Psychology, Emory University , Atlanta, GA , USA
| | | | - Helen P Berns
- Department of Psychology, Emory University , Atlanta, GA , USA
| | - Mark Spivak
- Comprehensive Pet Therapy , Atlanta, GA , USA
| | - Gregory S Berns
- Department of Psychology, Emory University , Atlanta, GA , USA
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41
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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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42
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43
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Kriengwatana B, Escudero P, ten Cate C. Revisiting vocal perception in non-human animals: a review of vowel discrimination, speaker voice recognition, and speaker normalization. Front Psychol 2015; 5:1543. [PMID: 25628583 PMCID: PMC4292401 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2014] [Accepted: 12/12/2014] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The extent to which human speech perception evolved by taking advantage of predispositions and pre-existing features of vertebrate auditory and cognitive systems remains a central question in the evolution of speech. This paper reviews asymmetries in vowel perception, speaker voice recognition, and speaker normalization in non-human animals - topics that have not been thoroughly discussed in relation to the abilities of non-human animals, but are nonetheless important aspects of vocal perception. Throughout this paper we demonstrate that addressing these issues in non-human animals is relevant and worthwhile because many non-human animals must deal with similar issues in their natural environment. That is, they must also discriminate between similar-sounding vocalizations, determine signaler identity from vocalizations, and resolve signaler-dependent variation in vocalizations from conspecifics. Overall, we find that, although plausible, the current evidence is insufficiently strong to conclude that directional asymmetries in vowel perception are specific to humans, or that non-human animals can use voice characteristics to recognize human individuals. However, we do find some indication that non-human animals can normalize speaker differences. Accordingly, we identify avenues for future research that would greatly improve and advance our understanding of these topics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Buddhamas Kriengwatana
- Behavioural Biology, Institute for Biology Leiden, Leiden UniversityLeiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden UniversityLeiden, Netherlands
| | - Paola Escudero
- The MARCS Institute, University of Western SydneySydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Carel ten Cate
- Behavioural Biology, Institute for Biology Leiden, Leiden UniversityLeiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden UniversityLeiden, Netherlands
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Kaplan G. Animal communication. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2014; 5:661-677. [PMID: 26308872 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2014] [Revised: 07/16/2014] [Accepted: 08/04/2014] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Animal communication is first and foremost about signal transmission and aims to understand how communication occurs. It is a field that has contributed to and been inspired by other fields, from information technology to neuroscience, in finding ever better methods to eavesdrop on the actual 'message' that forms the basis of communication. Much of this review deals with vocal communication as an example of the questions that research on communication has tried to answer and it provides an historical overview of the theoretical arguments proposed. Topics covered include signal transmission in different environments and different species, referential signaling, and intentionality. The contention is that animal communication may reveal significant thought processes that enable some individuals in a small number of species so far investigated to anticipate what conspecifics might do, although some researchers think of such behavior as adaptive or worth dismissing as anthropomorphizing. The review further points out that some species are more likely than others to develop more complex communication patterns. It is a matter of asking how animals categorize their world and which concepts require cognitive processes and which are adaptive. The review concludes with questions of life history, social learning, and decision making, all criteria that have remained relatively unexplored in communication research. Long-lived, cooperative social animals have so far offered especially exciting prospects for investigation. There are ample opportunities and now very advanced technologies as well to tap further into expressions of memory of signals, be they vocal or expressed in other modalities. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:661-677. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1321 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. CONFLICT OF INTEREST The author has declared no conflicts of interest for this article.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela Kaplan
- Centre for Neuroscience and Animal Behaviour, School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, Australia
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Zanette LY, Clinchy M, Suraci JP. Diagnosing predation risk effects on demography: can measuring physiology provide the means? Oecologia 2014; 176:637-51. [PMID: 25234371 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-3057-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2014] [Accepted: 08/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Predators kill prey thereby affecting prey survival and, in the traditional top-down view of predator limitation, that is their sole effect. Bottom-up food limitation alters the physiological condition of individuals affecting both fecundity and survival. Predators of course also scare prey inducing anti-predator defences that may carry physiological costs powerful enough to reduce prey fecundity and survival. Here, we consider whether measuring physiology can be used as a tool to unambiguously diagnose predation risk effects. We begin by providing a review of recent papers reporting physiological effects of predation risk. We then present a conceptual framework describing the pathways by which predators and food can affect prey populations and give an overview of predation risk effects on demography in various taxa. Because scared prey typically eat less the principal challenge we see will be to identify measures that permit us to avoid mistaking predator-induced reductions in food intake for absolute food shortage. To construct an effective diagnostic toolkit we advocate collecting multiple physiological measures and utilizing multivariate statistical procedures. We recommend conducting two-factor predation risk × food manipulations to identify those physiological effects least likely to be mistaken for responses to bottom-up food limitation. We suggest there is a critical need to develop a diagnostic tool that can be used when it is infeasible to experimentally test for predation risk effects on demography, as may often be the case in wildlife conservation, since failing to consider predation risk effects may cause the total impact of predators to be dramatically underestimated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana Y Zanette
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada,
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Logan CJ. Making progress in non-human mental time travel. Front Psychol 2014; 5:305. [PMID: 24782806 PMCID: PMC3988386 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2014] [Accepted: 03/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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Elephants can determine ethnicity, gender, and age from acoustic cues in human voices. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:5433-8. [PMID: 24616492 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1321543111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals can accrue direct fitness benefits by accurately classifying predatory threat according to the species of predator and the magnitude of risk associated with an encounter. Human predators present a particularly interesting cognitive challenge, as it is typically the case that different human subgroups pose radically different levels of danger to animals living around them. Although a number of prey species have proved able to discriminate between certain human categories on the basis of visual and olfactory cues, vocalizations potentially provide a much richer source of information. We now use controlled playback experiments to investigate whether family groups of free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Amboseli National Park, Kenya can use acoustic characteristics of speech to make functionally relevant distinctions between human subcategories differing not only in ethnicity but also in sex and age. Our results demonstrate that elephants can reliably discriminate between two different ethnic groups that differ in the level of threat they represent, significantly increasing their probability of defensive bunching and investigative smelling following playbacks of Maasai voices. Moreover, these responses were specific to the sex and age of Maasai presented, with the voices of Maasai women and boys, subcategories that would generally pose little threat, significantly less likely to produce these behavioral responses. Considering the long history and often pervasive predatory threat associated with humans across the globe, it is likely that abilities to precisely identify dangerous subcategories of humans on the basis of subtle voice characteristics could have been selected for in other cognitively advanced animal species.
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Taylor AH. Corvid cognition. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2014; 5:361-72. [DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2013] [Revised: 01/13/2014] [Accepted: 01/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alex H. Taylor
- School of Psychology; University of Auckland; Auckland New Zealand
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Beran MJ, Parrish AE, Perdue BM, Washburn DA. Comparative Cognition: Past, Present, and Future. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2014; 27:3-30. [PMID: 25419047 PMCID: PMC4239033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Comparative cognition is the field of inquiry concerned with understanding the cognitive abilities and mechanisms that are evident in nonhuman species. Assessments of animal cognition have a long history, but in recent years there has been an explosion of new research topics, and a general broadening of the phylogenetic map of animal cognition. To review the past of comparative cognition, we describe the historical trends. In regards to the present state, we examine current "hot topics" in comparative cognition. Finally, we offer our unique and combined thoughts on the future of the field.
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An eye for beauty: lateralized visual stimulation of courtship behavior and mate preferences in male zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata. Behav Processes 2013; 102:33-9. [PMID: 24239504 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2013] [Revised: 10/31/2013] [Accepted: 11/04/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Research on intersexual selection focuses on traits that have evolved for attracting mates and the consequences of mate choice. However, little is known about the cognitive and neural mechanisms that allow choosers to discriminate among potential mates and express an attraction to specific traits. Preferential use of the right eye during lateral displays in zebra finches, and lateralized expression of intermediate early genes in the left hemisphere during courtship led us to hypothesize that: (1) visual information from each eye differentially mediates courtship responses to potential mates; and (2) the ability to discriminate among mates and prefer certain mates over others is lateralized in the right eye/left hemisphere system of zebra finch brains. First, we exposed male zebra finches to females when using left, right or both eyes. Males courted more when the right eye was available than when only the left eye was used. Secondly, male preference for females - using beak color to indicate female quality - was tested. Right-eyed and binocular males associated with and courted orange-beaked more than gray-beaked females; whereas left-eyed males showed no preference. Lateral displays and eye use in male zebra finches increase their attractiveness and ability to assess female quality, potentially enhancing reproductive success. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: CO3 2013.
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