Translating Birdsong: Songbirds as a Model for Basic and Applied Medical Research

Brainard, Michael S.; Doupe, Allison J.

doi:10.1146/annurev-neuro-060909-152826

Cited by 198 publications

(192 citation statements)

References 178 publications

(269 reference statements)

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“…ARs are expressed at every level of the VMP, whereas ERs are expressed only in HVC. *ER is expressed in HVC only in some species, including canaries (Ball et al, 2002). **AROM mRNA is not found in HVC, but AROM protein has been observed in presynaptic boutons in HVC in zebra finches (Peterson et al, 2005).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dissociable Effects on Birdsong of Androgen Signaling in Cortex-Like Brain Regions of Canaries

2017

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The neural basis of how learned vocalizations change during development and in adulthood represents a major challenge facing cognitive neuroscience. This plasticity in the degree to which learned vocalizations can change in both humans and songbirds is linked to the actions of sex steroid hormones during ontogeny but also in adulthood in the context of seasonal changes in birdsong. We investigated the role of steroid hormone signaling in the brain on distinct features of birdsong using adult male canaries (Serinus canaria), which show extensive seasonal vocal plasticity as adults. Specifically, we bilaterally implanted the potent androgen receptor antagonist flutamide in two key brain regions that control birdsong. We show that androgen signaling in the motor cortical-like brain region, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA), controls syllable and trill bandwidth stereotypy, while not significantly affecting higher order features of song such syllable-type usage (i.e., how many times each syllable type is used) or syllable sequences. In contrast, androgen signaling in the premotor cortical-like brain region, HVC (proper name), controls song variability by increasing the variability of syllable-type usage and syllable sequences, while having no effect on syllable or trill bandwidth stereotypy. Other aspects of song, such as the duration of trills and the number of syllables per song, were also differentially affected by androgen signaling in HVC versus RA. These results implicate androgens in regulating distinct features of complex motor output in a precise and nonredundant manner.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1). Throughout this telencephalic brain circuit there is a distinct pattern of androgen receptor (AR) expression (Balthazart et al, 1992;Bernard et al, 1999;Gahr, 2001). Recent research makes it clear that T has nonredundant effects on song production in both the brain and the periphery (for review, see Alward et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissociable Effects on Birdsong of Androgen Signaling in Cortex-Like Brain Regions of Canaries

2017

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“…Other birds can perform complex pattern recognition (7), long-term recollection (8), and numerical discrimination (9), paralleling the performance of primates. Songbirds, such as zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata, the species studied here), learn to produce and recognize complex vocalizations for social communication, with numerous parallels to speech learning and perception (10).…”

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confidence: 99%

Coding principles of the canonical cortical microcircuit in the avian brain

Calabrese

Woolley

2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

113

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Mammalian neocortex is characterized by a layered architecture and a common or "canonical" microcircuit governing information flow among layers. This microcircuit is thought to underlie the computations required for complex behavior. Despite the absence of a six-layered cortex, birds are capable of complex cognition and behavior. In addition, the avian auditory pallium is composed of adjacent information-processing regions with genetically identified neuron types and projections among regions comparable with those found in the neocortex. Here, we show that the avian auditory pallium exhibits the same information-processing principles that define the canonical cortical microcircuit, long thought to have evolved only in mammals. These results suggest that the canonical cortical microcircuit evolved in a common ancestor of mammals and birds and provide a physiological explanation for the evolution of neural processes that give rise to complex behavior in the absence of cortical lamination.functional connectivity | cortex evolution | songbird | sensory coding T he cognitive abilities of birds suggest that the avian brain contains sophisticated information-processing circuitry. Recent studies have demonstrated that corvids, such as crows, rooks, and jays, exhibit innovative tool manufacture (1), referential gesturing (2), causal reasoning (3, 4), mirror self-recognition (5), and planning for future needs using recent experience (6). Other birds can perform complex pattern recognition (7), long-term recollection (8), and numerical discrimination (9), paralleling the performance of primates. Songbirds, such as zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata, the species studied here), learn to produce and recognize complex vocalizations for social communication, with numerous parallels to speech learning and perception (10).Although cognitive skills in birds and nonhuman mammals are often comparable, avian and mammalian palliums exhibit very different anatomical organization. Although the organization of ascending sensory pathways and subpallial structures are similar in avian and mammalian brains (11), the avian pallium (referred to hereafter as the cortex) lacks the distinctive six-layered structure of the mammalian neocortex (12). Instead of a laminar structure, the avian cortex is composed of interconnected nuclei and bands of neurons that form distinct processing regions. The avian primary auditory cortex (avian A1) is organized into adjacent processing regions, collectively called the field L/CM (caudal mesopallium) complex, that are stacked in a dorsorostral to ventrocaudal orientation (13, 14) ( Fig. 1 and Fig. S1). Regions of avian A1 are delineated by differences in cytoarchitecture and connectivity (13, 15) (SI Materials and Methods) and are organized into superficial (field L1 and lateral caudal mesopallium, CML), intermediate (field L2a and -b), and deep (field L3) regions, similar to neocortical layers. A posterior region, the caudal nidopallium (NC) is referred to as "secondary" cortex here. Fig. 2A shows a schemati...

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“…Birds don't learn to sing properly-and babies don't learn to speak normally-without early exposure to adult vocalizations, a requirement not shared by most other animals. Young male songbirds listen to and form a memory of an adult tutor's song (usually the father's), then gradually shape their immature "babbling" sounds to match it through trial-and-error practice, similar to how babies learn (3). In recent years, modern molecular and electrophysiological techniques have provided growing evidence that these behavioral similarities reflect some common biology.…”

Section: Bird Brainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Singing in the brain

Shen¹

2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Translating Birdsong: Songbirds as a Model for Basic and Applied Medical Research

Cited by 198 publications

References 178 publications

Dissociable Effects on Birdsong of Androgen Signaling in Cortex-Like Brain Regions of Canaries

Dissociable Effects on Birdsong of Androgen Signaling in Cortex-Like Brain Regions of Canaries

Coding principles of the canonical cortical microcircuit in the avian brain

Singing in the brain

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