scholarly journals Limiting parental feedback disrupts vocal development in marmoset monkeys

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasemin B. Gultekin ◽  
Steffen R. Hage
eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan L Gustison ◽  
Jeremy I Borjon ◽  
Daniel Y Takahashi ◽  
Asif A Ghazanfar

In adult animals, movement and vocalizations are coordinated, sometimes facilitating, and at other times inhibiting, each other. What is missing is how these different domains of motor control become coordinated over the course of development. We investigated how postural-locomotor behaviors may influence vocal development, and the role played by physiological arousal during their interactions. Using infant marmoset monkeys, we densely sampled vocal, postural and locomotor behaviors and estimated arousal fluctuations from electrocardiographic measures of heart rate. We found that vocalizations matured sooner than postural and locomotor skills, and that vocal-locomotor coordination improved with age and during elevated arousal levels. These results suggest that postural-locomotor maturity is not required for vocal development to occur, and that infants gradually improve coordination between vocalizations and body movement through a process that may be facilitated by arousal level changes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa Maxwell ◽  
Iris Adam ◽  
Pernille S. Larsen ◽  
Peter G. Sørensen ◽  
Coen P. H. Elemans

AbstractVocal behavior can be dramatically changed by both neural circuit development and postnatal maturation of the body. During song learning in songbirds, both the song system and syringeal muscles are functionally changing, but it is unknown if maturation of sound generators within the syrinx contributes to vocal development. Here we densely sample the respiratory pressure control space of the zebra finch syrinx in vitro. We show that the syrinx produces sound very efficiently and that key acoustic parameters, minimal fundamental frequency, entropy and source level, do not change over development in both sexes. Thus, our data suggest that the observed acoustic changes in vocal development must be attributed to changes in the motor control pathway, from song system circuitry to muscle force, and not by material property changes in the avian analog of the vocal folds. We propose that in songbirds, muscle use and training driven by the sexually dimorphic song system are the crucial drivers that lead to sexual dimorphism of the syringeal skeleton and musculature. The size and properties of the instrument are thus not changing, while its player is.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (20) ◽  
pp. eabe2405
Author(s):  
Henrik Brumm ◽  
Wolfgang Goymann ◽  
Sébastien Derégnaucourt ◽  
Nicole Geberzahn ◽  
Sue Anne Zollinger

Noise pollution has been linked to learning and language deficits in children, but the causal mechanisms connecting noise to cognitive deficiencies remain unclear because experimental models are lacking. Here, we investigated the effects of noise on birdsong learning, the primary animal model for vocal learning and speech development in humans. We found that traffic noise exposure retarded vocal development and led to learning inaccuracies. In addition, noise suppressed immune function during the sensitive learning period, indicating that it is a potent stressor for birds, which is likely to compromise their cognitive functions. Our results provide important insights into the consequences of noise pollution and pave the way for future studies using birdsong as an experimental model for the investigation of noise-induced learning impairments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Xiao ◽  
Devin P. Merullo ◽  
Therese M. I. Koch ◽  
Mou Cao ◽  
Marissa Co ◽  
...  

AbstractDisruption of the transcription factor FoxP2, which is enriched in the basal ganglia, impairs vocal development in humans and songbirds. The basal ganglia are important for the selection and sequencing of motor actions, but the circuit mechanisms governing accurate sequencing of learned vocalizations are unknown. Here, we show that expression of FoxP2 in the basal ganglia is vital for the fluent initiation and termination of birdsong, as well as the maintenance of song syllable sequencing in adulthood. Knockdown of FoxP2 imbalances dopamine receptor expression across striatal direct-like and indirect-like pathways, suggesting a role of dopaminergic signaling in regulating vocal motor sequencing. Confirming this prediction, we show that phasic dopamine activation, and not inhibition, during singing drives repetition of song syllables, thus also impairing fluent initiation and termination of birdsong. These findings demonstrate discrete circuit origins for the dysfluent repetition of vocal elements in songbirds, with implications for speech disorders.


Reproduction ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 139 (5) ◽  
pp. 923-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Beindorff ◽  
Almuth Einspanier

In early pregnant primates, relaxin (RLX) is highly upregulated within the corpus luteum (CL), suggesting that RLX may have an important role in the implantation of the blastocyst. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the local effects of RLX and gonadotrophins on the maintenance of the CL using anin vitromicrodialysis system. CLs of common marmoset monkeys were collected by luteectomy during different stages of the luteal phase and early pregnancy. Each CL was perfused with either Ringer's solution alone or Ringer's solution supplemented with either porcine RLX (250, 500 and 1000 ng/ml) or gonadotrophins (50 IU/ml). Application of RLX provoked a significant luteal response of progesterone (P4) and oestradiol (E2) secretions during the mid-luteal phase (500 ng/ml: P454±42%, E224±11%; 1000 ng/ml: E216±13%), and especially during the late luteal phase (250 ng/ml: P453±10%; 500 ng/ml: P444±15%; 1000 ng/ml: P462±15%, E218±7%). The effects of RLX on steroid secretion were irrespective of the RLX dosages. While treatment with human chorionic gonadotrophin did not affect luteal steroid or RLX secretion, the application of FSH resulted in a significant increase in the secretion of both P4(20±8%) and E2(37±28%), and a prominent rise in RLX during early pregnancy. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that RLX and FSH have a luteotrophic function in the marmoset monkeys; moreover, FSH has a function beyond its traditional role just as a follicle-stimulating hormone.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document