Song and the Limbic Brain: A New Function for the Bird's Own Song

Cheng, Mei-Fang; Durand, Sarah E.

doi:10.1196/annals.1298.019

Cited by 20 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Thus, studies in humans as well as in many other animal species suggest to us the reasonable notion that variations in AVPR1a microsatellite structure might also predispose some individuals to excel in dancing. Darwin observed that vocalization is a form of emotional expression, but among neuroethologists, questions concerning the role of emotion in vocal (and dance) communication have been superseded by questions that concern sensorimotor integration [64]. We believe that the two genes we have identified with dancing in humans are likely involved in the emotional side of dance rather than in the sensorimotor mechanics of this complex phenotype.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

AVPR1a and SLC6A4 Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated with Creative Dance Performance

et al. 2005

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Dancing, which is integrally related to music, likely has its origins close to the birth of Homo sapiens, and throughout our history, dancing has been universally practiced in all societies. We hypothesized that there are differences among individuals in aptitude, propensity, and need for dancing that may partially be based on differences in common genetic polymorphisms. Identifying such differences may lead to an understanding of the neurobiological basis of one of mankind's most universal and appealing behavioral traits—dancing. In the current study, 85 current performing dancers and their parents were genotyped for the serotonin transporter (SLC6A4: promoter region HTTLPR and intron 2 VNTR) and the arginine vasopressin receptor 1a (AVPR1a: promoter microsatellites RS1 and RS3). We also genotyped 91 competitive athletes and a group of nondancers/nonathletes (n = 872 subjects from 414 families). Dancers scored higher on the Tellegen Absorption Scale, a questionnaire that correlates positively with spirituality and altered states of consciousness, as well as the Reward Dependence factor in Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire, a measure of need for social contact and openness to communication. Highly significant differences in AVPR1a haplotype frequencies (RS1 and RS3), especially when conditional on both SLC6A4 polymorphisms (HTTLPR and VNTR), were observed between dancers and athletes using the UNPHASED program package (Cocaphase: likelihood ratio test [LRS] = 89.23, p = 0.000044). Similar results were obtained when dancers were compared to nondancers/nonathletes (Cocaphase: LRS = 92.76, p = 0.000024). These results were confirmed using a robust family-based test (Tdtphase: LRS = 46.64, p = 0.010). Association was also observed between Tellegen Absorption Scale scores and AVPR1a (Qtdtphase: global chi-square = 26.53, p = 0.047), SLC6A4 haplotypes (Qtdtphase: chi-square = 2.363, p = 0.018), and AVPR1a conditional on SCL6A4 (Tdtphase: LRS = 250.44, p = 0.011). Similarly, significant association was observed between Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire Reward Dependence scores and AVPR1a RS1 (chi-square = 20.16, p = 0.01). Two-locus analysis (RS1 and RS3 conditional on HTTLPR and VNTR) was highly significant (LRS = 162.95, p = 0.001). Promoter repeat regions in the AVPR1a gene have been robustly demonstrated to play a role in molding a range of social behaviors in many vertebrates and, more recently, in humans. Additionally, serotonergic neurotransmission in some human studies appears to mediate human religious and spiritual experiences. We therefore hypothesize that the association between AVPR1a and SLC6A4 reflects the social communication, courtship, and spiritual facets of the dancing phenotype rather than other aspects of this complex phenotype, such as sensorimotor integration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

AVPR1a and SLC6A4 Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated with Creative Dance Performance

et al. 2005

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“…Hypothalamic lesion outside of this region, such as in the lateral hypothalamus, did not affect cooing behavior (Bernstein et al, 1993;Gibson and Cheng, 1979). Interestingly, although lesion in the midbrain ICo vocal pathway disrupts both the bow coo and the nest coo, VMN lesion affects only the nest coo (Cohen, 1981;Cohen and Cheng, 1982;Bernstein et al, 1993;Cheng and Durand, 2004). The rapid recovery of the bow coo after VMN lesion suggests that general debilitation associated with the surgical procedure rather than specific neuronal loss was the culprit.…”

Section: Relationship Between Neurogenesis and Behavioral Recoverymentioning

confidence: 91%

Lesion‐induced neurogenesis in the hypothalamus is involved in behavioral recovery in adult ring doves

2006

Self Cite

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Although neurogenesis in the brain of adult vertebrates is region dependent, lesion induces generation of new neurons in non-neurogenic brain regions. These findings raise the question of the role of new neurons in brain repair and functional recovery. We addressed this question by applying previous observations that electrolytic lesion induced neurogenesis in the ventromedial nucleus (VMN) of the hypothalamus in adult ring doves. Such lesions disrupted the male's courtship behavior, which could be reinstated after rehabilitation with a female. We investigated whether lesion-induced newborn neurons in the VMN facilitate the recovery of courtship behavior in the lesioned birds. We conducted systematic observations of cytological, morphological, and neuroanatomical changes in the lesioned VMN, and concurrently we monitored behavioral changes. Using a multitude of specific cell markers, we found a well-circumscribed cellular zone that proliferated actively. This highly proliferative zone initially appeared along the periphery of the lesion site, where cells had high levels of expression of neuronal, glial, and neurovascular markers. As newborn neurons matured at the lesion site, the necrosis gradually decreased, whereas a downsized proliferative zone relocated to a region ventral to the VMN. Some of the mature neurons were found to project to the midbrain vocal nuclei. Restoration of these projection neurons coincided with the recovery of courtship vocalization. Finally, we found that a social factor, that is, when the male doves were cohoused with a mate, facilitated neurogenesis and behavioral recovery. These results suggest that lesion-induced neurogenesis contributes to behavioral recovery in adult animals.

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“…1, available at www.jneurosci.org as supplemental material). There are several reasons for hypothesizing a role for auditory input: (1) neurons in several song nuclei show auditory responses to song stimuli in awake and/or anesthetized or sleeping birds, with pronounced selectivity for a bird's own song (for review, see Theunissen et al, 2004); (2) vocalizations are important in coordinating the timing of reproduction in birds (for review, see Cheng and Durand, 2004); (3) auditory feedback is necessary for the juvenile development of song, and its adult maintenance in some species (for review, see Woolley, 2004); (4) auditory information modifies expression of several activity-dependent genes (e.g., ZENK, c-fos, Arc) in telencephalic auditory regions and the song nuclei (for review, see Mello et al, 2004); and (5) auditory input increases CREB phosphorylation in HVC neurons and immunostaining for protein kinase C (PKC) in RA of zebra finches and Bengalese finches (Sakaguchi and Yamaguchi, 1997;Sakaguchi et al, 1999;Watanabe et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Auditory Feedback and Song Production Do Not Regulate Seasonal Growth of Song Control Circuits in Adult White-Crowned Sparrows

Brenowitz

Lent

Rubel

2007

Journal of Neuroscience

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An important area of research in neuroscience is understanding what properties of brain structure and function are stimulated by sensory experience and behavioral performance. We tested the roles of experience and behavior in seasonal plasticity of the neural circuits that regulate learned song behavior in adult songbirds. Neurons in these circuits receive auditory input and show selective auditory responses to conspecific song. We asked whether auditory input or song production contribute to seasonal growth of telencephalic song nuclei. Adult male Gambel's white-crowned sparrows were surgically deafened, which eliminates auditory input and greatly reduces song production. These birds were then exposed to photoperiod and hormonal conditions that regulate the growth of song nuclei. We measured the volumes of the nuclei HVC, robust nucleus of arcopallium (RA), and area X at 7 and 30 d after exposure to long days plus testosterone in deafened and normally hearing birds. We also assessed song production and examined protein kinase C (PKC) expression because previous research reported that immunostaining for PKC increases transiently after deafening. Deafening did not delay or block the growth of the song nuclei to their full breeding-condition size. PKC activity in RA was not altered by deafening in the sparrows. Song continued to be well structured for up to 10 months after deafening, but song production decreased almost eightfold. These results suggest that neither auditory input nor high rates of song production are necessary for seasonal growth of the adult song control system in this species.

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Song and the Limbic Brain: A New Function for the Bird's Own Song

Cited by 20 publications

References 57 publications

AVPR1a and SLC6A4 Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated with Creative Dance Performance

AVPR1a and SLC6A4 Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated with Creative Dance Performance

Lesion‐induced neurogenesis in the hypothalamus is involved in behavioral recovery in adult ring doves

Auditory Feedback and Song Production Do Not Regulate Seasonal Growth of Song Control Circuits in Adult White-Crowned Sparrows

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