Castration modulates singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of RA projection neurons in adult male zebra finches

Castration Modulates Singing Patterns and Electrophysiological Properties of RA Projection Neurons in Adult Male Zebra Finches

Castration Modulates Singing Patterns and Electrophysiological Properties of RA Projection Neurons in Adult Male Zebra Finches

Adult Song Stereotypy Linked To Neuronal Morphology in Two Song System Regions

The pre-motor song control nucleus RA (robust nucleus of the arcopallium) receives projections from two distinct populations of projection neurons. Recent findings have shown that the ratio of dendritic arbor for input neurons from HVC (used here as proper name) to RA (HVC-RA) relative to arbor for input neurons from LMAN (lateral magnocellular nucleus of the nidopallium) (LMAN-RA) is positivel...

Parvalbumin-positive projection neurons characterise the vocal premotor pathway in male, but not female, zebra finches.

Parvalbumin (PV) and calbindin (CB) immunoreactivities were assessed in nucleus robustus archistriatalis (RA) of male and female zebra finches, together with retrograde labelling of RA neurons. The results of double and triple labelling experiments suggested that, in males, moderately and faintly PV-positive neurons were projection neurons, but that all intensely PV-positive cells were not. The...

Dopamine Modulates the Excitability of Projection Neurons in the Robust Nucleus of the Arcopallium in Adult Zebra Finches

BACKGROUND The nervous system in songbirds is an accessible system for studying vocal learning and memory in vertebrates. In the song system, the anterior forebrain pathway (AFP) is essential for song learning and the vocal motor pathway (VMP) is necessary for song production. The premotor robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) located in the VMP receives input from the AFP. The RA receives dop...