scholarly journals Song and the song control pathway in the brain can develop independently of exposure to song in the sedge warbler

2002 ◽  
Vol 269 (1509) ◽  
pp. 2519-2524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Leitner ◽  
Joanne Nicholson ◽  
Bernd Leisler ◽  
Timothy J. DeVoogd ◽  
Clive K. Catchpole
Keyword(s):  
Sedge Warbler ◽  
Song Control ◽  
The Brain

scholarly journals Species variation in the degree of sex differences in brain and behaviour related to birdsong: adaptations and constraints

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1688) ◽  
pp. 20150117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory F. Ball
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Species Variation ◽  
Song System ◽  
System A ◽  
Song Control System ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Area X ◽  
The Brain

The song-control system, a neural circuit that controls the learning and production of birdsong, provided the first example in vertebrates of prominent macro-morphological sex differences in the brain. Forebrain nuclei HVC, robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) and area X all exhibit prominent male-biased sex differences in volume in zebra finches and canaries. Subsequent studies compared species that exhibited different degrees of a sex difference in song behaviour and revealed an overall positive correlation between male biases in song behaviour and male biases in the volume of the song nuclei. However, several exceptions have been described in which male biases in HVC and RA are observed even though song behaviour is equal or even female-biased. Other phenotypic measures exhibit lability in both sexes. In the duetting plain-tailed wren ( Pheugopedius euophrys ), males and females have auditory cells in the song system that are tuned to the joint song the two sexes produce rather than just male or female components. These findings suggest that there may be constraints on the adaptive response of the song system to ecological conditions as assessed by nucleus volume but that other critical variables regulating song can respond so that each sex can modify its song behaviour as needed.

scholarly journals Parasites affect song complexity and neural development in a songbird

2005 ◽  
Vol 272 (1576) ◽  
pp. 2037-2043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen A Spencer ◽  
Katherine L Buchanan ◽  
Stefan Leitner ◽  
Arthur R Goldsmith ◽  
Clive K Catchpole
Keyword(s):  
Neural Development ◽  
Initial Growth ◽  
Developmental Stress ◽  
Plasmodium Relictum ◽  
Song Complexity ◽  
Underlying Basis ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Developmental Conditions ◽  
Early Developmental ◽  
The Brain

There is now considerable evidence that female choice drives the evolution of song complexity in many songbird species. However, the underlying basis for such choice remains controversial. The developmental stress hypothesis suggests that early developmental conditions can mediate adult song complexity by perturbing investment in the underlying brain nuclei during their initial growth. Here, we show that adult male canaries ( Serinus canaria ), infected with malaria ( Plasmodium relictum ) as juveniles, develop simpler songs as adults compared to uninfected individuals, and exhibit reduced development of the high vocal centre (HVC) song nucleus in the brain. Our results show how developmental stress not only affects the expression of a sexually selected male trait, but also the structure of the underlying song control pathway in the brain, providing a direct link between brain and behaviour. This novel experimental evidence tests both proximate and ultimate reasons for the evolution of complex songs and supports the Hamilton–Zuk hypothesis of parasite-mediated sexual selection. Together, these results propose how developmental costs may help to explain the evolution of honest advertising in the complex songs of birds.

Photorefractoriness and seasonal changes in the brain in response to changes in day length in American goldfinches (Carduelis tristis)

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 2100-2107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regan H Marsh ◽  
Scott A MacDougall-Shackleton ◽  
Thomas P Hahn
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Day Length ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Strong Trend ◽  
Carduelis Tristis ◽  
Song Control System ◽  
Song Control ◽  
Seasonally Breeding ◽  
The Brain

We examined neural and gonadal responses to photoperiod in a late-summer-breeding finch, the American goldfinch (Carduelis tristis). First we measured seasonal changes in the gonads of free-living goldfinches. Next we determined whether the gonads of goldfinches held on constant long days would eventually regress spontaneously. Finally, we compared the hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) system and song-control system of breeding and postbreeding birds. The results confirm that the gonads of wild goldfinches regress in late summer and show that the gonads of goldfinches held on constant long days regress spontaneously. Thus, according to at least one criterion, goldfinches become photorefractory, like other seasonally breeding songbirds. As well, goldfinches exhibited similar seasonal changes in the brain to spring-breeding birds. There was a decrease in GnRH immunoreactivity in autumn and a strong trend towards a reduction in the size of song-control regions (although this was statistically significant for only one area). Thus, although goldfinches breed late in summer as day length declines, some of their physiological responses to changes in photoperiod are similar to those that occur in spring-breeding songbirds.

Evolutionary changes in a song control area of the brain (HVC) are associated with evolutionary changes in song repertoire among European warblers (Sylviidae)

1996 ◽  
Vol 263 (1370) ◽  
pp. 607-610 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Control Area ◽  
Relative Volume ◽  
Repertoire Size ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Brain Structure And Function ◽  
Syllable Repertoire ◽  
Song Control ◽  
The Brain

Determining relations between brain structure and function is a principal focus of evolutionary neurobiology. Here we investigate covariation between singing behaviour and the neuroanatomy in eight species of sylviid warblers from the closely related Acrocephalus and Locustella genera. We found a significant positive correlation between repertoire size and the volume of the higher vocal centre after controlling for variation in brain size and phylogenetic relatedness across species. This group is of particular interest, as earlier work has shown that an increase in male song complexity (as measured by syllable repertoire size) is caused by sexual selection pressure acting through female choice. Thus, in males of Acrocephalus species (which have complex songs), sexual selection appears to have led to increases in both syllable repertoire size and the relative volume of the higher vocal centre. In contrast, Locustella species have very simple songs, and repertoire size and the relative volume of the higher vocal centre remain small in males of these species. These results indicate that sexual selection may have shaped the evolution of a particular behavioural trait (song) by altering the relevant controlling area of the brain (higher vocal centre).

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