Female Songbirds: The unsung drivers of courtship behavior and its neural substrates

Perkes, Ammon; White, David J.; Wild, J. Martin; Schmidt, Marc F.

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2017.12.004

Cited by 19 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 139 publications

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“…Interestingly, experiments in a related species (canary) suggest the descending connectivity of RA may also influence female copulatory solicitation displays (CSDs) via disynaptic control of spinal motoneuron pools (Wild & Botelho, 2015). These data lead to the view that HVC and RA may be a part of a more general network that controls courtship and reproductive behavior (including learned song and CSDs) in both sexes (reviewed by Perkes et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female zebra finches do not sing yet share neural pathways necessary for singing in males

Shaughnessy

Hyson

Bertram

et al. 2018

J of Comparative Neurology

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Adult female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), which do not produce learned songs, have long been thought to possess only vestiges of the forebrain network that supports learned song in males. This view ostensibly explains why females do not sing—many of the neural populations and pathways that make up the male song control network appear rudimentary or even missing in females. For example, classic studies of vocal‐premotor cortex (HVC, acronym is name) in male zebra finches identified prominent efferent pathways from HVC to vocal‐motor cortex (RA, robust nucleus of the arcopallium) and from HVC to the avian basal ganglia (Area X). In females, by comparison, the efferent targets of HVC were thought to be only partially innervated by HVC axons (RA) or absent (Area X). Here, using a novel visually guided surgical approach to target tracer injections with precision, we mapped the extrinsic connectivity of the adult female HVC. We find that female HVC shows a mostly male‐typical pattern of afferent and efferent connectivity, including robust HVC innervation of RA and Area X. As noted by earlier investigators, we find large sex differences in the volume of many regions that control male singing (male > female). However, sex differences in volume were diminished in regions that convey ascending afferent input to HVC. Our findings do not support a vestigial interpretation of the song control network in females. Instead, our findings support the emerging view that the song control network may have an altogether different function in nonsinging females.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female zebra finches do not sing yet share neural pathways necessary for singing in males

Shaughnessy

Hyson

Bertram

et al. 2018

J of Comparative Neurology

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“…Multiple studies have suggested the auditory-motor forebrain region HVC is necessary for song selectivity (Brenowitz, 1991;Del Negro et al, 1998;Maguire et al, 2013), showing that lesions to HVC result in a loss of CSD selectivity. Based on this, we had previously inferred that HVC must act immediately in response to song stimulus, inhibiting CSD to low potency songs and releasing inhibition on higher potency songs (Perkes et al, 2019), however the loss of selectivity observed following HVC lesions could also be explained by a decreased response threshold. Rather than directly inhibiting the CSD response, HVC could modulate the effect of acoustic feedback on underlying responsiveness.…”

Section: A Model For Achieving Sexual Autonomy By Modulating Response Thresholdmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…--al., 2008). Given the role of CSD in sexual signaling, and that the same neural circuit that controls singing has been shown to regulate aspects of CSD selectivity (Brenowitz, 1991;Perkes et al, 2019), we wanted to test the possibility that CSD posture might also represent a sequence of behavioral subcomponents, whose order and/or temporal features within the sequence might reflect some aspect of behavioral state or song potency. For example, while the peak of CSD posture appears consistent, with the tail elevated and wings spread to expose the cloaca, we wondered whether early elements of the posture (e.g., early head tilt or wing motion) could be thought of as separate subcomponents that are independently regulated.…”

Section: Female Csd Responses Are Not Composed Of Distinct Subcomponentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These features, however, do not rule out the possibility of top-down control. In rodents, the copulatory posture lordosis is also driven reflexively by well-characterized circuits in the brainstem, but this response, in both mammals and birds, is modulated in a top-down manner by higher-order forebrain centers (Ball & Balthazart, 2020;Maguire et al, 2013;Perkes et al, 2019;Pfaff et al, 2008). It is certainly possible that in richer social contexts females do update their song weightings over short timescales with respect to male exposure-it is clear that female song preferences are at least partially learned (Riebel, 2003(Riebel, , 2009, and that these preferences remain plastic into adulthood Nagle & Kreutzer, 1997)-however as our model shows, this type of song learning is not necessary for flexible behavior.…”

Section: Female Cowbirds Appear To Have An Innate Agreement Of Song Potencymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variation in female songbird state determines signal strength needed to evoke copulation

Perkes

Pfrommer

Daniilidis

et al. 2021

Preprint

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It is the female response to male signals that determines courtship success. In most songbirds, females control reproduction via the copulation solicitation display (CSD), an innate, stereotyped posture produced in direct response to male displays. Because CSD can be elicited in the absence of males by the presentation of recorded song, CSD production enables investigations into the effects of underlying signal features and behavioral state on female mating preferences. Using computer vision to quantify CSD trajectory in female brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), we show that both song quality and a female's internal state predict CSD production, as well as the onset latency and duration of the display. We also show that CSD can be produced in a graded fashion based on both signal strength and internal state. These results emphasize the importance of underlying receiver state in determining behavioral responses and suggest that female responsiveness acts in conjunction with male signal strength to determine the efficacy of male courtship.

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“…Although the SCS has been primarily studied for its role in regulating male song learning and production, there is a growing understanding that it is important for communication more broadly. [134][135][136][137] For zebra finches, acoustic communication is an essential modality for pair bond formation and maintenance.…”

Section: Zebra Finchesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reciprocal processes of sensory perception and social bonding: an integrated social‐sensory framework of social behavior

Prior

Bentz

Ophir

2021

Genes Brain and Behavior

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Organisms filter the complexity of natural stimuli through their individual sensory and perceptual systems. Such perceptual filtering is particularly important for social stimuli.A shared "social umwelt" allows individuals to respond appropriately to the expected diversity of cues and signals during social interactions. In this way, the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of sociality and social bonding cannot be disentangled from perceptual mechanisms and sensory processing. While a degree of embeddedness

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Female Songbirds: The unsung drivers of courtship behavior and its neural substrates

Cited by 19 publications

References 139 publications

Female zebra finches do not sing yet share neural pathways necessary for singing in males

Female zebra finches do not sing yet share neural pathways necessary for singing in males

Variation in female songbird state determines signal strength needed to evoke copulation

Reciprocal processes of sensory perception and social bonding: an integrated social‐sensory framework of social behavior

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