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López-Murillo C, Hinestroza-Morales S, Henny P, Toledo J, Cardona-Gómez GP, Rivera-Gutiérrez H, Posada-Duque R. Differences in vocal brain areas and astrocytes between the house wren and the rufous-tailed hummingbird. Front Neuroanat 2024; 18:1339308. [PMID: 38601797 PMCID: PMC11004282 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2024.1339308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The house wren shows complex song, and the rufous-tailed hummingbird has a simple song. The location of vocal brain areas supports the song's complexity; however, these still need to be studied. The astrocytic population in songbirds appears to be associated with change in vocal control nuclei; however, astrocytic distribution and morphology have not been described in these species. Consequently, we compared the distribution and volume of the vocal brain areas: HVC, RA, Area X, and LMAN, cell density, and the morphology of astrocytes in the house wren and the rufous-tailed hummingbird. Individuals of the two species were collected, and their brains were analyzed using serial Nissl- NeuN- and MAP2-stained tissue scanner imaging, followed by 3D reconstructions of the vocal areas; and GFAP and S100β astrocytes were analyzed in both species. We found that vocal areas were located close to the cerebral midline in the house wren and a more lateralized position in the rufous-tailed hummingbird. The LMAN occupied a larger volume in the rufous-tailed hummingbird, while the RA and HVC were larger in the house wren. While Area X showed higher cell density in the house wren than the rufous-tailed hummingbird, the LMAN showed a higher density in the rufous-tailed hummingbird. In the house wren, GFAP astrocytes in the same bregma where the vocal areas were located were observed at the laminar edge of the pallium (LEP) and in the vascular region, as well as in vocal motor relay regions in the pallidum and mesencephalon. In contrast, GFAP astrocytes were found in LEP, but not in the pallidum and mesencephalon in hummingbirds. Finally, when comparing GFAP astrocytes in the LEP region of both species, house wren astrocytes exhibited significantly more complex morphology than those of the rufous-tailed hummingbird. These findings suggest a difference in the location and cellular density of vocal circuits, as well as morphology of GFAP astrocytes between the house wren and the rufous-tailed hummingbird.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina López-Murillo
- Área de Neurofisiología Celular, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
| | - Santiago Hinestroza-Morales
- Área de Neurofisiología Celular, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
| | - Pablo Henny
- Laboratorio de Neuroanatomía, Departamento de Anatomía, and Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia, NeuroUC, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Jorge Toledo
- Scientific Equipment Network REDECA, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gloria Patricia Cardona-Gómez
- Área de Neurobiología Celular y Molecular, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Facultad de Medicina, Sede de Investigaciones Universitarias, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
| | - Héctor Rivera-Gutiérrez
- Grupo de Investigación de Ecología y Evolución de Vertebrados, Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
| | - Rafael Posada-Duque
- Área de Neurofisiología Celular, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
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Kim Y, Mori C, Kojima S. Effect of Darkness on Intrinsic Motivation for Undirected Singing in Bengalese Finch (Lonchura striata Domestica): A Comparative Study With Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Front Physiol 2022; 13:884404. [PMID: 35694395 PMCID: PMC9174599 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.884404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The zebra finch (ZF) and the Bengalese finch (BF) are animal models that have been commonly used for neurobiological studies on vocal learning. Although they largely share the brain structure for vocal learning and production, BFs produce more complex and variable songs than ZFs, providing a great opportunity for comparative studies to understand how animals learn and control complex motor behaviors. Here, we performed a comparative study between the two species by focusing on intrinsic motivation for non-courtship singing (“undirected singing”), which is critical for the development and maintenance of song structure. A previous study has demonstrated that ZFs dramatically increase intrinsic motivation for undirected singing when singing is temporarily suppressed by a dark environment. We found that the same procedure in BFs induced the enhancement of intrinsic singing motivation to much smaller degrees than that in ZFs. Moreover, unlike ZFs that rarely sing in dark conditions, substantial portion of BFs exhibited frequent singing in darkness, implying that such “dark singing” may attenuate the enhancement of intrinsic singing motivation during dark periods. In addition, measurements of blood corticosterone levels in dark and light conditions provided evidence that although BFs have lower stress levels than ZFs in dark conditions, such lower stress levels in BFs are not the major factor responsible for their frequent dark singing. Our findings highlight behavioral and physiological differences in spontaneous singing behaviors of BFs and ZFs and provide new insights into the interactions between singing motivation, ambient light, and environmental stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunbok Kim
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Chihiro Mori
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Satoshi Kojima
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, South Korea
- *Correspondence: Satoshi Kojima,
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Diez A, An HY, Carfagnini N, Bottini C, MacDougall-Shackleton SA. Neurogenesis and the development of neural sex differences in vocal control regions of songbirds. J Comp Neurol 2021; 529:2970-2986. [PMID: 33719029 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The brain regions that control the learning and production of song and other learned vocalizations in songbirds exhibit some of the largest sex differences in the brain known in vertebrates and are associated with sex differences in singing behavior. Song learning takes place through multiple stages: an early sensory phase when song models are memorized, followed by a sensorimotor phase in which auditory feedback is used to modify song output through subsong, plastic song, to adult crystalized song. However, how patterns of neurogenesis in these brain regions change through these learning stages, and differ between the sexes, is little explored. We collected brains from 63 young male and female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) over four stages of song learning. Using neurogenesis markers for cell division (proliferating cell nuclear antigen), neuron migration (doublecortin), and mature neurons (neuron-specific nuclear protein), we demonstrate that there are sex-specific changes in neurogenesis over song development that differ between the caudal motor pathway and anterior forebrain pathway of the vocal control circuit. In many of these regions, sex differences emerged very early in development, by 25 days post hatch, at the beginning of song learning. The emergence of sex differences in other components of the system was more gradual and had specific trajectories depending on the brain region and its function. In conclusion, we found that sex differences occurred early and continued during song learning. Moreover, transitions from the different phases of song development do not seem to depend on large changes in neurogenesis in the vocal control areas measured.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Diez
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Advanced Facility for Avian Research, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ha Yun An
- Advanced Facility for Avian Research, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nicole Carfagnini
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Claire Bottini
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Scott A MacDougall-Shackleton
- Advanced Facility for Avian Research, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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Kubikova L, Polomova J, Mikulaskova V, Lukacova K. Effectivity of Two Cell Proliferation Markers in Brain of a Songbird Zebra Finch. BIOLOGY 2020; 9:biology9110356. [PMID: 33113793 PMCID: PMC7694046 DOI: 10.3390/biology9110356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary The present study compared the effectivity of two cell proliferation markers, BrdU and EdU, in the brain neurogenic zone of the songbird zebra finch. It shows their saturation doses, that BrdU labels more cells than the equimolar dose of EdU, and that both markers can be reliably detected in the same brain. Abstract There are two most heavily used markers of cell proliferation, thymidine analogues 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) that are incorporated into the DNA during its synthesis. In neurosciences, they are often used consecutively in the same animal to detect neuronal populations arising at multiple time points, their migration and incorporation. The effectivity of these markers, however, is not well established. Here, we studied the effectivity of equimolar doses of BrdU and EdU to label new cells and looked for the dose that will label the highest number of proliferating cells in the neurogenic ventricular zone (VZ) of adult songbirds. We found that, in male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), the equimolar doses of BrdU and EdU did not label the same number of cells, with BrdU being more effective than EdU. Similarly, in liver, BrdU was more effective. The saturation of the detected brain cells occurred at 50 mg/kg BrdU and above 41 mg/kg EdU. Higher dose of 225 mg/kg BrdU or the equimolar dose of EdU did not result in any further significant increases. These results show that both markers are reliable for the detection of proliferating cells in birds, but the numbers obtained with BrdU and EdU should not be compared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lubica Kubikova
- Institute of Animal Biochemistry and Genetics, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 840 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (J.P.); (V.M.); (K.L.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Justina Polomova
- Institute of Animal Biochemistry and Genetics, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 840 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (J.P.); (V.M.); (K.L.)
| | - Viktoria Mikulaskova
- Institute of Animal Biochemistry and Genetics, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 840 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (J.P.); (V.M.); (K.L.)
- Institute of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 9, 812 37 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Kristina Lukacova
- Institute of Animal Biochemistry and Genetics, Centre of Biosciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 840 05 Bratislava, Slovakia; (J.P.); (V.M.); (K.L.)
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