Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Massimo Trusel, Todd F. Roberts
Summary: A new study has shown how the neural circuit enables social motivation to generate diverse courtship behaviors in songbirds like the zebra finch.
Article
Biology
Alison Osbrink, Megan A. Meatte, Alan Tran, Katri K. Herranen, Lilliann Meek, May Murakami-Smith, Jacelyn Ito, Some Bhadra, Carrie Nunnenkamp, Christopher N. Templeton
Summary: The study found that traffic noise can reduce cognitive performance in birds, including inhibitory control, motor learning, spatial memory, and social learning, but not associative color learning. This suggests that noise pollution may have previously unconsidered consequences for animals.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biology
James N. McGregor, Abigail L. Grassler, Paul Jaffe, Amanda Louise Jacob, Michael S. Brainard, Samuel J. Sober
Summary: This study reveals that songbirds can learn vocalization through somatosensory feedback and the songbird basal ganglia thalamocortical pathway, along with dopaminergic inputs, plays a critical role in non-auditory vocal learning.
Article
Neurosciences
Matheus Macedo-Lima, Hannah M. Boyd, Luke Remage-Healey
Summary: The study demonstrates that dopamine interacts with local neuroestradiol signaling to modulate auditory learning in songbirds. D1 receptors (D1R) are frequently expressed in auditory neurons, and D1R activation reduces inhibitory activity while increasing excitatory firing rates.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Cara N. Brittain, Amanda M. Bessler, Andrew S. Elgin, Rachel B. Layko, Sumin Park, Shelby E. Still, Haruka Wada, John P. Swaddle, Daniel A. Cristol
Summary: Mercury pollution has detrimental effects on birds, including disruptions in spatial learning and memory. The timing and duration of exposure to mercury play a crucial role in the extent of these impairments. Developmental exposure is necessary, but ongoing adult exposure is also required for behavioral impairments to occur. However, birds that disperse or migrate from contaminated sites may have the opportunity to recover from these impairments if they are no longer exposed to the toxicant.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2023)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Lisa Kalnins, Oliver Krueger, E. Tobias Krause
Summary: This study proposes a novel plumage scoring system for small songbirds, using the example of the Zebra Finch, and compares it with the traditional fat score. The results show that the plumage score has higher reliability and can be taught to other observers. This scoring method may be an important tool for assessing the well-being of captive animals.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Norman Chinweike Asogwa, Noriyuki Toji, Ziwei He, Chengru Shao, Yukino Shibata, Shoji Tatsumoto, Hiroe Ishikawa, Yasuhiro Go, Kazuhiro Wada
Summary: This study clones all 15 nAChR subunits and investigates their expression patterns during birdsong learning. The results show that these subunits are expressed in the song nuclei of the bird brain and are differentially regulated. ChrnA5 is upregulated during the critical period, and ChrnA7 and B2 are the major subunits in the vocal motor nuclei.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Optics
Wenxue Zhang, Yuhong Wan, Tianlong Man, Hongqiang Zhou
Summary: Edge enhancement with incoherent illumination is an important research field in optical imaging, with potential applications in various areas. In this paper, a computational incoherent edge enhancement imaging method based on self-interference digital holography is proposed, which effectively improves edge extraction and suppresses background noise by adjusting amplitude and phase.
OPTICS AND LASER TECHNOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dana M. Hawley, Courtney A. Thomason, Matt A. Aberle, Richard Brown, James S. Adelman
Summary: Understanding how directly transmitted pathogens benefit from harming hosts is crucial for understanding the evolution of virulence. Pathogens often benefit from high levels of infection within hosts, which can lead to high virulence. However, high virulence may also directly increase the spread of pathogens. We conducted a study on house finches infected with Mycoplasma gallisepticum to investigate the relationship between virulence, inflammation, and pathogen spread. Our results suggest that inflammation associated with high virulence can facilitate pathogen spread, potentially driving the evolution of virulence.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Garrett B. Scarpa, Joseph R. Starrett, Geng-Lin Li, Colin Brooks, Yuichi Morohashi, Yoko Yazaki-Sugiyama, Luke Remage-Healey
Summary: Neuroestrogens modulate the temporal precision of sensory neurons by altering their intrinsic and synaptic properties.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sara E. Lipshutz, Clara R. Howell, Aaron M. Buechlein, Douglas B. Rusch, Kimberly A. Rosvall, Elizabeth P. Derryberry
Summary: This study investigates the impact of high temperatures on sexually selected traits and the underlying gene regulatory mechanisms in zebra finches. The results show that exposure to acute heat challenges leads to heat dissipation behaviors and differential gene expression in the testis. Few genes in the brain show differential expression, suggesting it is less responsive to extreme temperatures. Gene network analyses suggest a correlation between dopaminergic signaling in the brain and heat dissipation behaviors, providing a potential mechanism for the alteration of motivational circuits for song production.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Valentina J. Alaasam, Xu Liu, Ye Niu, Justine S. Habibian, Simon Pieraut, Brad S. Ferguson, Yong Zhang, Jenny Q. Ouyang
Summary: Artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts natural circadian rhythms, impacting behavior and physiology in both humans and wildlife. Studies have shown that even low levels of ALAN can lead to changes in nighttime activity and cardiovascular health, emphasizing the need for research into the ecological impacts of light pollution.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Physiology
Yunbok Kim, Chihiro Mori, Satoshi Kojima
Summary: This study compared the non-courtship singing behavior of the zebra finch and the Bengalese finch. The researchers found that the zebra finch exhibited a greater increase in intrinsic motivation for singing when singing was suppressed by darkness compared to the Bengalese finch. Additionally, a substantial portion of Bengalese finches exhibited frequent singing in darkness. The study also provided evidence that lower stress levels in Bengalese finches during darkness were not the major factor for their frequent dark singing. These findings offer new insights into the differences in spontaneous singing behaviors between the two species and the interactions between singing motivation, ambient light, and environmental stress.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Jake Aronowitz, John R. Kirn, Carolyn L. Pytte, Gloster B. Aaron
Summary: This study found that half of the neurons in the HVC region of adult male zebra finches express activity-dependent genes and are identified as DARPP-32+ HVC neurons, which do not backfill from the robust nucleus of the arcopallium and receive catecholaminergic input.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Ori Carmi, Adi Gross, Nadav Ivzan, Lamberto La Franca, Nairouz Farah, Zeev Zalevsky, Yossi Mandel
Summary: Neuronal activity magnitude localization and measurement are crucial for mapping and understanding neuronal systems. In this study, seven different methods for localizing cortical responses were evaluated, with Temporally Structured Component Analysis (TSCA) found to outperform others in generating high-resolution retinotopic maps.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Marcel Isstas, Manuel Teichert, Juergen Bolz, Konrad Lehmann
BRAIN STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
(2017)
Article
Neurosciences
Manuel Teichert, Marcel Isstas, Steven Wenig, Christoph Setz, Konrad Lehmann, Juergen Bolz
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2018)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Konrad Lehmann, Thorsten Grund, Anja Bagorda, Francesco Bagorda, Keren Grafen, York Winter, Gertraud Teuchert-Noodt
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2009)
Article
Neurosciences
Naira Yeritsyan, Konrad Lehmann, Oliver Puk, Jochen Graw, Siegrid Loewel
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2012)
Article
Neurosciences
Senthil Thyagarajan, Michiel van Wyk, Konrad Lehmann, Siegrid Loewel, Guoping Feng, Heinz Waessle
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2010)
Article
Neurosciences
Ulrike Matthies, Jenny Balog, Konrad Lehmann
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2013)
Article
Neurosciences
Bianka Goetze, Karl-Friedrich Schmidt, Konrad Lehmann, Wilko Detlev Altrock, Eckart Dieter Gundelfinger, Siegrid Loewel
Article
Neurosciences
Jenny Balog, Ulrike Matthies, Lisa Naumann, Mareike Voget, Christine Winter, Konrad Lehmann
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Konrad Lehmann, Siegrid Loewel
Review
Neurosciences
Konrad Lehmann, Andre Steinecke, Juergen Bolz
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Manuel Teichert, Marcel Isstas, Lutz Liebmann, Christian A. Huebner, Franziska Wieske, Christine Winter, Konrad Lehmann, Juergen Bolz
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Jenny Balog, Franziska Hintz, Marcel Isstas, Manuel Teichert, Christine Winter, Konrad Lehmann
BRAIN STRUCTURE & FUNCTION
(2019)
Article
Neurosciences
Konrad Lehmann, Deurim Lehmann
Article
Neurosciences
Konrad Lehmann, Karl-Friedrich Schmidt, Siegrid Loewel
RESTORATIVE NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE
(2012)