Auditory learning in an operant task with social reinforcement is dependent on neuroestrogen synthesis in the male songbird auditory cortex

Dopamine D1 receptor activation drives plasticity in the songbird auditory pallium

“…1A). Previously, we showed that neuroestradiol production in NCM participated in reinforcement-driven auditory association learning (Macedo-Lima and Remage-Healey, 2020). Thus, we hypothesized that reinforcement signaling by the dopaminergic system involved interactions with aromatase neurons in NCM.…”

“…E2 production in NCM is elevated during social interactions and song playbacks (Remage-Healey et al, 2012, 2008), and E2 treatment rapidly increases neuronal response to song playbacks (Remage-Healey et al, 2010). We recently showed that blocking aromatase locally in NCM slows auditory association learning in an operant task (Macedo-Lima and Remage-Healey, 2020). This finding led to the hypothesis that dopamine interacts with E2 signaling in NCM to support association learning.…”

“…This adaptation in NCM neurons reflects familiarity with songs, as well as song-consequence associations (Bell et al, 2015;Chew et al, 1996;Lu and Vicario, 2017). The NCM is an important target of a wide variety of neuromodulators, such as norepinephrine (Ikeda et al, 2015;Lee et al, 2018), nitric oxide (Wallhäusser-Franke et al, 1995), neuroestradiol (Macedo-Lima and Remage-Healey, 2020;Saldanha et al, 2000) and . CC-BY 4.0 International license available under a (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.…”

“…This adaptation in NCM neurons reflects familiarity with songs, as well as song-consequence associations (Bell et al, 2015; Chew et al, 1996; Lu and Vicario, 2017). The NCM is an important target of a wide variety of neuromodulators, such as norepinephrine (Ikeda et al, 2015; Lee et al, 2018), nitric oxide (Wallhäusser-Franke et al, 1995), neuroestradiol (Macedo-Lima and Remage-Healey, 2020; Saldanha et al, 2000) and dopamine (Matragrano et al, 2012). In addition to neuromodulators, NCM is rich in NMDA receptors (Saldanha et al, 2004), which are classically regarded as key players in cellular memory formation processes, such as long-term potentiation and long-term depression (Lüscher and Malenka, 2012).…”

Estrogen as a Neuroprotectant in Both Sexes: Stories From the Bird Brain

“…The developing, juvenile, adult, and aging brains of mammals and birds are exquisitely sensitive to neural E2 synthesis [ (1,5,7,(20)(21)(22); see (4) for review]. Much more recently, however, technological and conceptual developments have helped to reveal critical roles for central aromatization on other complex behaviors such as spatial memory in birds, rodents, and marmosets (23)(24)(25)(26); seizure activity in rodents (27); and auditory perception and singing behavior in birds (28,29).…”