Caudal mesopallial neurons in female songbirds bridge sensory and motor brain regions

Dunning, Jeffery L.; Maze, Sarah E.; Atwood, Ethan J.; Prather, Jonathan F.

doi:10.1002/cne.24440

Cited by 9 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…BFs and domestic canaries are captive species and swamp sparrows and Lincoln's sparrows are wild, yet our data suggest a similar basis of song evaluation in all four species. Our data reveal a broadly relevant pattern of song evaluation in a species that is especially useful for neurobiological studies in the laboratory [e.g., 41,42], opening the door to additional investigations of how preferences develop, how they are encoded in auditory processing, and how that information is used to direct selective mate choice behaviors. Curiously, not all of the females that we sampled expressed the same preference for accelerated tempo.…”

Section: Considering Possible Benefits Associated With Female Preferementioning

confidence: 99%

Female finches prefer courtship signals indicating male vigor and neuromuscular ability

et al. 2020

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Female songbirds use male song to discriminate among individuals and evaluate their quality as potential mates. Previous behavioral experiments in many species, including the species studied here, have shown that females will solicit copulation in response to song even if no male is present. Those data demonstrate that female mate choice is closely tied to song features, but they leave open the question of which song parameters are most influential in female mate selection. We sought to identify features of male song that are salient for mate choice in female Bengalese finches. Using a novel experimental approach, we simultaneously tested the possible influence of specific notes or note transitions, the number of different note types in the male's repertoire, the complexity of note content and note sequence, and the stereotypy of note content and note sequence. In additional experiments, we also tested the influence of the pitch and tempo of note production. Our results demonstrate that females generally preferred songs containing increased tempo in the context of species-typical frequency bandwidth, consistent with the idea that females prefer songs that are especially challenging to produce. Female preference for song features that pose a neuromuscular challenge has also been reported in other species. Our data extend those observations into a species that thrives in a laboratory setting and is commonly used in studies of the neural basis of behavior. These results provide an excellent new model system in which to study female preference and the neural mechanisms that underlie signal evaluation and mate choice.

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Section: Considering Possible Benefits Associated With Female Preferementioning

confidence: 99%

Female finches prefer courtship signals indicating male vigor and neuromuscular ability

et al. 2020

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“…CM projects robustly to other portions of the auditory lobule (NC). CM also receives small amounts of reciprocal input from NC, as evident in some reports that reveal weak projections from NC to CM and others that detected no connection between those areas ( Vates et al, 1996 ; Dunning et al, 2018 ; Bloomston et al, 2022 ). Dunning et al (2018) also found that CM projects into pathways that provide dopaminergic input back to cortical areas (ventral portion of the intermediate arcopallium, AIV).…”

Section: Female Song Preferencementioning

confidence: 81%

“…CM also receives small amounts of reciprocal input from NC, as evident in some reports that reveal weak projections from NC to CM and others that detected no connection between those areas ( Vates et al, 1996 ; Dunning et al, 2018 ; Bloomston et al, 2022 ). Dunning et al (2018) also found that CM projects into pathways that provide dopaminergic input back to cortical areas (ventral portion of the intermediate arcopallium, AIV). AIV in male songbirds has been shown to play a role in vocal-motor learning, and is likely a key region for establishing motivational state, which is important for reinforcement learning ( Mandelblat-Cerf et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Female Song Preferencementioning

confidence: 81%

“…Here, we turn to consideration of the neural mechanisms that are also shaped by that experience and that underlie the perception and expression of mate preferences. Electrophysiological recordings and pathway tracing studies from many research groups have revealed pathways through which auditory experience is relayed from the ears to the brain (reviewed in Dunning et al, 2018 ; Bloomston et al, 2022 ). Activity originating in hair cells of the inner ear is propagated through a network of auditory neurons in the brainstem and thalamus, and it eventually reaches a forebrain area which is the avian analog of the mammalian primary auditory cortex (Field L) ( Lewicki and Arthur, 1996 ; Grace et al, 2003 ; Amin et al, 2004 ; Meliza and Margoliash, 2012 ; Prather, 2013 ).…”

Section: Female Song Preferencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additional investigations of CM have revealed pathways through which neurons in that site may communicate with downstream areas to exert their influence on song preference and mate choice. Dunning and colleagues ( Dunning et al, 2018 ) used anterograde tracers to identify the pathways through which CM projects to downstream targets in female Bengalese finches. They found broad agreement between pathways present in females and those previously reported for males ( Vates et al, 1996 ; Mandelblat-Cerf et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Female Song Preferencementioning

confidence: 99%

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Song Preference in Female and Juvenile Songbirds: Proximate and Ultimate Questions

et al. 2022

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Birdsong has long been a subject of extensive research in the fields of ethology as well as neuroscience. Neural and behavioral mechanisms underlying song acquisition and production in male songbirds are particularly well studied, mainly because birdsong shares some important features with human speech such as critical dependence on vocal learning. However, birdsong, like human speech, primarily functions as communication signals. The mechanisms of song perception and recognition should also be investigated to attain a deeper understanding of the nature of complex vocal signals. Although relatively less attention has been paid to song receivers compared to signalers, recent studies on female songbirds have begun to reveal the neural basis of song preference. Moreover, there are other studies of song preference in juvenile birds which suggest possible functions of preference in social context including the sensory phase of song learning. Understanding the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying the formation, maintenance, expression, and alteration of such song preference in birds will potentially give insight into the mechanisms of speech communication in humans. To pursue this line of research, however, it is necessary to understand current methodological challenges in defining and measuring song preference. In addition, consideration of ultimate questions can also be important for laboratory researchers in designing experiments and interpreting results. Here we summarize the current understanding of song preference in female and juvenile songbirds in the context of Tinbergen’s four questions, incorporating results ranging from ethological field research to the latest neuroscience findings. We also discuss problems and remaining questions in this field and suggest some possible solutions and future directions.

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Exploring links from sensory perception to movement and behavioral motivation in the caudal nidopallium of female songbirds

Bloomston

Zaharas

Lawley

et al. 2022

J of Comparative Neurology

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Decision making resides at the interface between sensory perception and movement production. Female songbirds in the context of mate choice are an excellent system to define neural circuits through which sensory perception influences production of courtship behaviors. Previous experiments by our group and others have implicated secondary auditory brain sites, including the caudal nidopallium (NC), in mediating behavioral indicators of mate choice. Here, we used anterograde tracer molecules to define projections that emerge from NC in female songbirds, identifying pathways through which NC influences downstream sites implicated in signal processing and decision making. Our results reveal that NC sends projections into the arcopallium, including the ventral intermediate arcopallium (AIV). Previous work revealed that AIV also receives input from another auditory area implicated in song preference and mate choice (caudal mesopallium, CM), suggesting that convergent input from multiple auditory areas may play important roles in initiating mate choice behaviors. In the present results, NC projects to an area implicated in postural and locomotory control (dorsal arcopallium, Ad), suggesting that NC may play a role in directing those forms of copulatory behavior. NC projections also systematically avoid a vocal motor region of the arcopallium that is innervated by CM (robust nucleus of the arcopallium). These results suggest a model in which both NC and CM project to arcopallial pathways implicated in behavioral motivation. These brain regions may exert different influences on pathways through which auditory information can direct different facets of behavioral responses to information detected in those auditory signals.

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Caudal mesopallial neurons in female songbirds bridge sensory and motor brain regions

Cited by 9 publications

References 46 publications

Female finches prefer courtship signals indicating male vigor and neuromuscular ability

Female finches prefer courtship signals indicating male vigor and neuromuscular ability

Song Preference in Female and Juvenile Songbirds: Proximate and Ultimate Questions

Exploring links from sensory perception to movement and behavioral motivation in the caudal nidopallium of female songbirds

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