scholarly journals Population-Level Representation of a Temporal Sequence Underlying Song Production in the Zebra Finch

Neuron ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 866-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel A. Picardo ◽  
Josh Merel ◽  
Kalman A. Katlowitz ◽  
Daniela Vallentin ◽  
Daniel E. Okobi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Temporal Sequence ◽  
Song Production

scholarly journals The variability of song variability in wild and domesticated zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison L. Lansverk ◽  
Sarah E. London ◽  
Simon C. Griffith ◽  
David F. Clayton ◽  
Christopher N. Balakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Purifying Selection ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Research Goal ◽  
Cross Fostering

ABSTRACTBirdsong is a classic example of a learned social behavior. Like many traits of interest, however, song production is also influenced by genetic factors and understanding the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences remains a major research goal. In this study we take advantage of genetic variation among captive zebra finch populations to examine variation in a population-level song trait: song variability. We find that zebra finch populations differ in levels of song variability. Domesticated T. g. castanotis populations displayed higher song diversity than more recently wild-derived populations of both zebra finch subspecies T. g. castanotis and T. g. guttata, the Timor zebra finch. To determine whether these differences could have a genetic basis, we cross-fostered domesticated T. g. castanotis and Timor zebra finches to Bengalese finches Lonchura striata domestica. Following cross-fostering, domesticated T. g. castanotis maintained a higher level of song diversity than T. g. guttata. We suggest that the high song variability of domesticated zebra finches may be a consequence of reduced purifying selection acting on song traits. Intraspecific differences in the mechanisms underlying song variability therefore represent an untapped opportunity for probing the mechanisms of song learning and production.

Influence of RA neural spontaneous firing in zebra finch song production

2009 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. S243
Author(s):  
Ayako Ajima ◽  
Raimu Imai ◽  
Chihiro Mori ◽  
Kazuhiro Wada ◽  
Neal A. Hessler
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Spontaneous Firing ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Zebra Finch Song

scholarly journals The variability of song variability in zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ) populations

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 190273
Author(s):  
Allison L. Lansverk ◽  
Katie M. Schroeder ◽  
Sarah E. London ◽  
Simon C. Griffith ◽  
David F. Clayton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Major Goal ◽  
The Difference

Birdsong is a classic example of a learned social behaviour. Song behaviour is also influenced by genetic factors, and understanding the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences remains a major goal. In this study, we take advantage of captive zebra finch populations to examine variation in a population-level song trait: song variability. Song variability is of particular interest in the context of individual recognition and in terms of the neuro-developmental mechanisms that generate song novelty. We find that the Australian zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata castanotis ( TGC ) maintains higher song diversity than the Timor zebra finch T. g. guttata ( TGG ) even after experimentally controlling for early life song exposure, suggesting a genetic basis to this trait. Although wild-derived TGC were intermediate in song variability between domesticated TGC populations and TGG , the difference between domesticated and wild TGC was not statistically significant. The observed variation in song behaviour among zebra finch populations represents a largely untapped opportunity for exploring the mechanisms of social behaviour.

Regulation of learned vocal behavior by an auditory motor cortical nucleus in juvenile zebra finches

2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 291-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Naie ◽  
Richard H. R. Hahnloser
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Brain Area ◽  
Primary Afferents ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Significant Source ◽  
Vocal Behavior ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Auditory Input ◽  
Cortical Nucleus ◽  
Song Production

In the process of song learning, songbirds such as the zebra finch shape their initial soft and poorly formed vocalizations (subsong) first into variable plastic songs with a discernable recurring motif and then into highly stereotyped adult songs. A premotor brain area critically involved in plastic and adult song production is the cortical nucleus HVC. One of HVC's primary afferents, the nucleus interface of the nidopallium (NIf), provides a significant source of auditory input to HVC. However, the premotor involvement of NIf has not been extensively studied yet. Here we report that brief and reversible pharmacological inactivation of NIf in juvenile birds leads to transient degradation of plastic song toward subsong, as revealed by spectral and temporal song features. No such song degradation is seen following NIf inactivation in adults. However, in both juveniles and adults NIf inactivation leads to a transient decrease in song stereotypy. Our findings reveal a contribution of NIf to song production in juveniles that agrees with its known role in adults in mediating thalamic drive to downstream vocal motor areas during sleep.

Multiple Cell Types Distinguished by Physiological, Pharmacological, and Anatomic Properties in Nucleus HVc of the Adult Zebra Finch

1998 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 1828-1838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Dutar ◽  
Huan M. Vu ◽  
David J. Perkel
Keyword(s):  
Functional Properties ◽  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Motor Nucleus ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Multiple Cell ◽  
Area X

Dutar, Patrick, Huan M. Vu, and David J. Perkel. Multiple cell types distinguished by physiological, pharmacological, and anatomic properties in nucleus HVc of the adult zebra finch. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 1828–1838, 1998. Nucleus HVc of the songbird is a distinct forebrain region that is essential for song production and shows selective responses to complex auditory stimuli. Two neuronal populations within HVc give rise to its efferent projections. One projection, to the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA), serves as the primary motor pathway for song production, and can also carry auditory information to RA. The other projection of HVc begins a pathway through the anterior forebrain, (area X → medial portion of the dorsolateral nucleus of the thalamus (DLM) → lateral portion of the magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (L-MAN) → RA) that is crucial for song learning but, although active during singing, is not essential for adult song production. To test whether these different projection neuron classes have different functional properties, we recorded intracellularly from neurons in nucleus HVc in brain slices. We observed at least three classes of neuron based on intrinsic physiological and pharmacological properties as well as on synaptic inputs. We also examined the morphological properties of the cells by filling recorded neurons with neurobiotin. The different physiological cell types correspond to separate populations based on their soma size, dendritic extent, and axonal projection. Thus HVc neurons projecting to area X have large somata, show little spike-frequency adaptation, a hyperpolarizing response to the metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonist (1 S,3 R)- trans-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (ACPD), and exhibit a slow inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) following tetanic stimulation. Those HVc neurons projecting to motor nucleus RA have smaller somata, show strong accommodation, are not consistently hyperpolarized by ACPD, and exhibit no slow IPSP. A third, rarely recorded class of neurons fire in a sustained fashion at very high-frequency and may be interneurons. Thus the neuronal classes within HVc have different functional properties, which may be important for carrying specific information to their postsynaptic targets.

scholarly journals A Subtype of Adult-Born Neuron in Male Zebra Finch HVC Expresses DARPP-32 and Does Not Project to RA as part of the Vocal Motor Pathway

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake V Aronowitz ◽  
Hyekyung Moon ◽  
John R Kirn ◽  
Carolyn L Pytte ◽  
Gloster B Aaron
Keyword(s):  
Tyrosine Hydroxylase ◽  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Receptor Expression ◽  
The Other ◽  
Tract Tracing ◽  
Motor Pathway ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Adult Born Neurons ◽  
Male Zebra Finch

AbstractAdult male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) continually incorporate adult-born neurons into HVC, a telencephalic brain region necessary for the production of learned song. These neurons express immediate early genes following song production, suggesting a role for neurogenesis in song production throughout the lifespan. Half of these adult-born HVC neurons (HVC NNs) send their axons to RA as part of the vocal motor pathway underlying learned song production, but the other half do not, and their identity remains unknown. Here we used cell birth-dating, retrograde tract tracing, and immunofluorescence to demonstrate that half of all HVC NNs express the neuron-specific phosphoprotein DARPP-32, a protein associated with DA receptor expression. We also demonstrate that DARPP-32+ HVC NNs are contacted by tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive fibers suggesting that they receive catecholaminergic input, are transiently larger than DARPP-32-negative HVC NNs, and do not send axons to RA as part of the vocal motor pathway. Taken together, these findings indicate the existence of a class of HVC NNs that do not project to RA and may constitute the aforementioned unknown half of all HVC NNs.

scholarly journals A distributed neural network model for the distinct roles of medial and lateral HVC in zebra finch song production

2017 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 677-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Galvis ◽  
Wei Wu ◽  
Richard L. Hyson ◽  
Frank Johnson ◽  
Richard Bertram
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Network Model ◽  
Zebra Finch ◽  
Neural Network Model ◽  
Network Organization ◽  
Cortical Nucleus ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Zebra Finch Song

Zebra finch song consists of a string of syllables repeated in a nearly invariant sequence. We propose a neural network organization that can explain recent data indicating that the medial and lateral portions of the premotor cortical nucleus HVC have different roles in zebra finch song production. Our model explains these data, as well as data on the effects on song of cooling HVC, and makes predictions that we test in the singing bird.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document