Unlike the human brain, which produces few neurons in adulthood, the brains of songbirds continue to produce new neurons throughout life. The function of these new neurons is not know, although it has been suggested that they endow the avian brain with a remarkable regenerative capacity that does not exist in mammals. It has also been proposed that the addition of new neurons in adulthood under...

233, Date 2/15/99, Session H, Podium , 4:15p Hearing in the red-billed firefinch (Lagonosticta senegala): An estrildid finch with narrowband vocalizations *B. Lohr, R.J. Dooling (University of Maryland) The red-billed firefinch (Lagonosticta senegala) is a small, non-territorial estrildid finch native to Africa. As in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), a member of the same family and a popula...

Nicotine enhances cognitive performance, and in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), which is a well-established model of cognition, the effects of nicotine on song production have been reported. Nicotine and cotinine plasma levels were assessed in vivo after subcutaneous injection of 0.18 mg/kg nicotine, a dose that elicits changes in song production. The half-life of nicotine elimination wa...

Mutations in the FOXP2 gene cause speech and language impairments, accompanied by structural and functional abnormalities in brain regions underlying speech-related sensory-motor processing, including the striatum and cerebellum. The sequence and expression patterns of FOXP2 are highly conserved among higher vertebrates. In the zebra finch brain, FoxP2 is expressed in Area X, a striatal nucleus...

Nicotine enhances cognitive performance, and in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), which is a well-established model of cognition, the effects of nicotine on song production have been reported. Nicotine and cotinine plasma levels were assessed in vivo after subcutaneous injection of 0.18 mg/kg nicotine, a dose that elicits changes in song production. The half-life of nicotine elimination wa...

Sensory systems are predicted to be adapted the perception of important stimuli, such as signals used in communication. Prior work has shown that female zebra finches perceive carotenoid-based orange-red coloration male beaks—a mate choice signal—categorically. Specifically, females exhibited an increased ability discriminate between colors from opposite sides a perceptual category boundary tha...

Birds exhibit a remarkable diversity of different reproductive strategies both between and within species. Species such as the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) may evolve the flexible use of alternative reproductive strategies, as well as benefit from prior breeding experience, which allows them to adaptively respond to unpredictable environments. In birds, the flexible use of alternative repr...

Coccidiosis and gizzard erosion are rare conditions in cage bird. A male zebra finch was presented with a history of watery diarrhea, anorexia, ruffled feathers, weight loss, and lethargy and died finally. Gross necropsy revealed small areas of erosions and hemorrhages on the gizzard wall. The intestine was oedematous. The spleen appeared pale and small. The testes were asymmetric.Histologicall...

4 Introduction 6 Songbirds and Humans 6 Zebra Finch Song Structure and Learning Process 6 Critical Periods 7 HVC and Neurogenesis 8 The Song System 10 Role of Inhibitory Interneurons in Learning and Plasticity 16 Perineuronal Nets 19 Hypothesis and Predictions 20 Methods 22 Subjects 22 BrdU Injections 22 Song Recording and Analysis 23 Immunohistochemistry 23 Histology 23 Data Collection 25 Stat...

The hypoglossal motor neurons that innervate the vocal organ (syrinx) of the male zebra finch show a selective, long-latency (50-millisecond) response to sound. This response is eliminated by lesions to forebrain song-control nuclei. Different song syllables elicit a response from different syringeal motor neurons. Conspecific vocalizations may therefore be perceived as members of a set of voca...