Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ofer Tchernichovski, Sophie Eisenberg-Edidin, Erich D. Jarvis
Summary: An analysis of 160 tutor-pupil zebra finch pairs suggests that frequency dependent balanced imitation prevents the extinction of rare song elements and the overabundance of common ones, promoting song diversity within groups and species recognition across groups.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hugo Loning, Laura Verkade, Simon C. Griffith, Marc Naguib
Summary: Male songbirds sing to establish territories and attract mates, but recent research has shown that singing also serves other functions, such as social cohesion and breeding synchronization. The study of zebra finches found that despite not having territories, males still sing and form long-term monogamous bonds with females. The study also revealed that singing plays an important role in social aggregations by attracting conspecifics. These findings demonstrate that birdsong has important functions beyond territoriality and mate choice.
Article
Biology
Wan-chun Liu, Michelle Landstrom, MaKenna Cealie, Iona MacKillop
Summary: Increased movement can enhance vocal activity in young zebra finches, while reduced locomotion leads to poor vocal learning. Exercise in juvenile birds may promote their ability to learn and produce songs. The relationship between the development of locomotor movement and vocal-motor learning is not fully understood.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carlos Antonio Rodriguez-Saltos, Aditya Bhise, Prasanna Karur, Ramsha Nabihah Khan, Sumin Lee, Gordon Ramsay, Donna L. Maney
Summary: In this study, researchers examined the hypothesis that the reward value of hearing a particular song predicts the degree to which a song will be learned during the song learning process in songbirds. The results showed that young male zebra finches preferred their father's song early during song learning and eventually imitated it in adulthood. The strength of preference for the father's song during the sensitive period of song learning positively correlated with the accuracy of imitation. This suggests that preference for a chosen tutor's song can predict vocal learning during development.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Payal Arya, Stela P. P. Petkova, Praveen P. P. Kulkarni, Nancy H. H. Kolodny, Sharon M. H. Gobes
Summary: Sensory experiences in early development shape higher cognitive functions, and in the case of zebra finches, learning song from two 'tutors' at different points in development permanently alters neural activity in auditory processing and learning regions. Using fMRI, the study found changes in lateralization of the auditory midbrain and identified the caudolateral Nidopallium (NCL) as a region related to the fidelity of second-song imitation, highlighting the role of experience in altering neural activity in song learning.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Andrew C. Katsis, Andrew T. D. Bennett, Katherine L. Buchanan, Sonia Kleindorfer, Mylene M. Mariette
Summary: Research shows that songbird embryos exposed to "heat calls" are more likely to prefer non-paternal tutors for vocal learning as adults. This suggests that prenatal sound experiences can indirectly influence songbird preferences. The study also found that prenatal sound experiences can have long-lasting effects on individual song preferences.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Natalie R. Pilgeram, Nicole M. Baran, Aditya Bhise, Matthew T. Davis, Erik N. K. Iverson, Emily Kim, Sumin Lee, Carlos A. Rodriguez-Saltos, Donna L. Maney
Summary: In species with vocal learning, acquiring species-typical vocalizations relies on early social orienting. This study demonstrates that the attentional and motivational processes supporting song learning in zebra finches recruit the oxytocin system. Oxytocin antagonism during exposure to a tutor biased juveniles against that tutor and his song, suggesting that oxytocin receptors are important for socially-guided vocal learning.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Yutao Zhang, Yalun Sun, Yanran Wu, Wei Sun, Kun Zhang, Wei Meng, Songhua Wang
Summary: This study used patch-clamp recording to reveal that the metabolite of testosterone, estradiol (E2), inhibits the activity of projection neurons (PNs) in the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) by activating the G-protein-coupled membrane-bound estrogen receptor (GPER) in male zebra finches. These findings provide insight into the physiological functions of E2 in regulating singing behavior in songbirds.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shin Yanagihara, Maki Ikebuchi, Chihiro Mori, Ryosuke O. Tachibana, Kazuo Okanoya
Summary: The initiation and execution of complex learned vocalizations, such as human speech and birdsong, depend on multiple brain circuits. In songbirds, neurons in the midbrain VTA/SNc show phasic activity precisely time-locked to the onset of song bouts, suggesting that this activity represents a start signal triggering vocalization.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Maelle Lefeuvre, ChuChu Lu, Carlos A. Botero, Joanna Rutkowska
Summary: The current climate change is posing new challenges to wildlife by creating unpredictable environmental conditions. A study on zebra finches found that temperature variability can influence their song learning, with birds experiencing variable temperatures more likely to sing during recordings. Additionally, birds that experienced variable prenatal conditions had higher learning accuracy.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Jolien Diddens, Louis Coussement, Carolina Frankl-Vilches, Gaurav Majumdar, Sandra Steyaert, Sita M. Ter Haar, Jeroen Galle, Ellen De Meester, Sarah De Keulenaer, Wim Van Criekinge, Charlotte A. Cornil, Jacques Balthazart, Annemie Van der Linden, Tim De Meyer, Wim Vanden Berghe
Summary: The study reveals extensive neurodevelopmental changes and increasing DNA methylation levels in zebra finch telencephalon during postnatal development, with only a small fraction of differential expression explained by DNA methylation. Sexually dimorphic gene expression is largely influenced by incomplete dosage compensation, independent of DNA methylation, and increases throughout life. DNA methylation regulates neurodevelopmental gene expression dynamics through steering transcription factor activity, but does not explain sexually dimorphic gene expression patterns.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hamed Yeganegi, Janie M. Ondracek
Summary: Despite their differences, mammals and birds show similar EEG traces during sleep. Sleep patterns in birds undergo age-dependent variations, and may be influenced by vocal learning. Our study on zebra finches found that adults spent more time in SWS and REM sleep, while juveniles spent more time in IS. Male juveniles engaged in vocal learning had more IS, suggesting its importance for vocal learning. Connectivity and synchrony in the avian brain also changed during maturation, with different patterns observed in juveniles and adults.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Michelle T. T. Chan, Annette Muttray, Dionne Sakhrani, Krista Woodward, Jin-Hyoung Kim, Kris A. Christensen, Ben F. Koop, Robert H. Devlin
Summary: Transgenic fish, such as the GH transgenic coho salmon strain, show significant differences in growth rate and phenotypes compared to wild-type fish. Sex and transgene insertion sites alter transgene expression, while estradiol levels do not directly influence transgene activity. This study highlights the impact of genetic factors and transgene insertion sites on transgene expression and phenotype.
MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Andrology
Andrzej Bartke, Erin Hascup, Kevin Hascup
Summary: There is growing recognition that sex differences extend beyond reproductive organs and traits related to reproduction, and that sex is a significant biological variable in most characteristics of living organisms. This article focuses on sex differences in responses to anti-aging interventions, which have been shown to vary substantially between females and males. While calorie restriction and certain genetic alterations can extend longevity in both sexes, specific metabolic changes and health benefits differ between women and men. It is clear that understanding the unique mechanisms of aging in females and males is crucial for developing effective and tailored anti-aging interventions.
WORLD JOURNAL OF MENS HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Fabian Heim, Simon E. Fisher, Constance Scharff, Carel ten Cate, Katharina Riebel
Summary: The search for molecular underpinnings of human vocal communication has focused on genes encoding forkhead-box transcription factors, as rare disruptions of FOXP1, FOXP2, and FOXP4 have been linked to disorders involving speech and language deficits. In male songbirds, experimentally altered expression levels of these transcription factors impair song production learning. It is unknown whether the deficits observed after different FoxP manipulations in songbirds are due to auditory processing, motor function, or auditory-motor integration.