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

Bloomston, Natalie A.; Zaharas, Kristina; Lawley, Koedi S.; Fenn, Thomas; Person, Emily; Huber, Holly; Zhang, Zhaojie; Prather, Jonathan F.

doi:10.1002/cne.25305

Cited by 5 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(72 reference statements)

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“…Lesions commonly extended along the axis on which the injection was made (Figures 2B-E). Similar to results from previous injections in NC, affected volumes typically extended 250-350 microns in the medial-lateral direction (Bloomston et al, 2022). As in previous reports, song playback resulted in call responses during the song presentation (Dunning et al, 2014(Dunning et al, , 2020.…”

Section: Nc Lesioned Females Were Unchanged In Their Ability To Indic...supporting

confidence: 87%

“…Previous work has shown that NC is reciprocally interconnected with cells in CM (Vates et al, 1996;Dunning et al, 2018;Bloomston et al, 2022), suggesting that NC and CM may work together to control over courtship behaviors. In support of the idea that modulation of song evaluation and courtship behavior may require the coordination of activity in both of those sites, roughly half of the neurons within NC are GABAergic with projections to CM (Pinaud et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additional studies could use focal lesions and electrophysiological recordings in awake and freely behaving birds to reveal the specific roles that activity in these subregions may have in the processing of male song and production of call responses. Tract-tracing studies using precise approaches to focally apply tracer molecules or label specific cells using viral transfection should also be performed to more completely describe the circuits through which NC may play a role in processing sensory information and using that activity to direct specific motor outcomes (Bloomston et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Auditory processing neurons influence song evaluation and strength of mate preference in female songbirds

Lawley

Fenn

Person

et al. 2022

Front. Neural Circuits

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Animals use a variety of complex signaling mechanisms to convey an array of information that can be detected by conspecifics and heterospecifics. Receivers of those signals perceive that information and use it to direct their subsequent actions. Thus, communication such as that which occurs between senders and receivers of vocal communication signals can be a powerful model in which to investigate the neural basis of sensory perception and action initiation that underlie decision-making. In this study, we investigated how female songbirds perceive the quality of acoustic signals (songs) performed by males and use that information to express preference for one song among many possible alternatives. We use behavioral measurement of song preference before and after lesion-induced alteration of activity in an auditory processing area (caudal nidopallium, NC) for which we have previously described its interconnections with other auditory areas and downstream reward pathways. Our findings reveal that inactivating NC does not change a female’s ability or willingness to perform behavioral indicators of mate choice, nor does it change their ability to identify the songs of individual males. However, lesioning NC does induce a decrease in the strength of song preference for specific males more than others. That decrease does not result in a complete elimination of preference, as female preferences for specific males are still evident but not as strongly expressed after lesioning of NC. Taken together, these data indicate that NC plays a role in a female’s strength of preference in song evaluation and mate choice, and activity in NC is an important facet of mate choice.

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Section: Nc Lesioned Females Were Unchanged In Their Ability To Indic...supporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Auditory processing neurons influence song evaluation and strength of mate preference in female songbirds

Lawley

Fenn

Person

et al. 2022

Front. Neural Circuits

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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%

“…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%

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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Adding the neuro to cognition: from food storing to nest building

Healy

2022

Anim Cogn

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Typically, investigations of animal cognition couple careful experimental manipulations with examination of the animal’s behavioural responses. Sometimes those questions have included attempts to describe the neural underpinnings of the behavioural outputs. Over the past 25 years, behaviours that involve spatial learning and memory (such as navigation and food storing) has been one context in which such dual or correlated investigations have been both accessible and productive. Here I review some of that work and where it has led. Because of the wealth of data and insights gained from that work and song learning before it, it seems that it might also be useful to try to add some neurobiology to other systems in animal cognition. I finish then, with a description of recent work on the cognition and neurobiology of avian nest building. It is still relatively early days but asking questions about the cognition of nest building has already shown both neural correlates of nest building and that learning and memory play a much greater role in this behaviour than previously considered. While it is not yet clear how putting these components together will be synergistic, the examples of song learning and food storing provide encouragement. Perhaps this might be true for other behaviours too?

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

Cited by 5 publications

References 30 publications

Auditory processing neurons influence song evaluation and strength of mate preference in female songbirds

Auditory processing neurons influence song evaluation and strength of mate preference in female songbirds

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

Adding the neuro to cognition: from food storing to nest building

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