Projection neurons within a vocal motor pathway are born during song learning in zebra finches

Nordeen, Kathy W.; Nordeen, Ernest J.

doi:10.1038/334149a0

Cited by 196 publications

(130 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…RA was intensely immunoreactive for TrkB, the receptor for NT-4/5, and it is possible that endogenous auto/paracrine release of NT-4/5 within RA could be regulated by presynaptic input from lMAN (antibodies to recognize NT-4/5 in avian brain are not presently available). With respect to the presence of multiple growth factors in RA, it is important to recognize that RA shows a complex assortment of developmental changes during song learning, including rapid overall growth that is attributable to a substantial increase in the size and spacing of neuronal somata and the delayed arrival of new axons from another cortical song region, HVC (Bottjer et al, 1985(Bottjer et al, , 1986Konishi and Akutagawa, 1985;Nordeen and Nordeen, 1988;Kirn and DeVoogd, 1989;Akutagawa and Konishi, 1994). Because neurotrophins have been shown recently to regulate the growth of somata, dendritic arbors, and axon terminals (Cabelli et al, 1995;Cohen-Cory andFraser, 1995, McAllister et al, 1995;Riddle et al, 1995), it seems likely that multiple anterograde, retrograde, and auto/paracrine signaling pathways could be involved in orchestrating the overall growth and development of RA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurotrophins Suppress Apoptosis Induced by Deafferentation of an Avian Motor-Cortical Region

et al. 1997

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Studies of the developing nervous system led to the general view that growth factors promote neuronal survival in a "retrograde" manner. For example, release of NGF from postsynaptic peripheral targets followed by uptake and retrograde transport by presynaptic neurons provided a widely accepted conceptual framework for the action of neurotrophins. In contrast, although presynaptic or "anterograde" influences on the survival of developing neurons have been recognized for some time, the mechanisms by which afferent input regulates the survival of postsynaptic cells have received considerably less attention. In the forebrain network for learned vocal behavior in zebra finches, lesions of a cortical region for song control, the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (lMAN), remove presynaptic input to a motor-cortical song region, the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA), and cause massive RA neuron death in young birds that are entering the sensitive period for song learning. Here we report that lesions of lMAN followed by infusions of neurotrophins directly into RA completely suppress neuronal apoptosis in RA. Moreover, we show that lMAN neurons are able to transport neurotrophins in the anterograde direction to RA, that neurotrophin-like immunoreactivity is present in cells in lMAN and RA, and that neurotrophin receptor-like immunoreactivity is present in RA. Expression of neurotrophins in lMAN and RA suggests that lMAN presynaptic input could regulate RA neuron survival by synthesizing, transporting, and releasing neurotrophins anterogradely or by regulating the auto/paracrine release of neurotrophins within RA, or perhaps by both. These data provide the first in vivo demonstration that neurotrophins can prevent the death of deafferented cortical neurons, and they raise the possibility that nonretrograde signaling by neurotrophins may be a common means of promoting neuronal survival in the vertebrate telencephalon. Anterograde and auto/ paracrine neurotrophin signaling, along with the more established view that neurotrophins regulate neuron survival via retrograde mechanisms, suggests multidirectional neurotrophin signaling in the vertebrate telencephalon.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurotrophins Suppress Apoptosis Induced by Deafferentation of an Avian Motor-Cortical Region

et al. 1997

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“…We know that neurons are constantly added to parts of the song system of songbirds (Goldman and Nottebohm, 1983;Paton and Nottebohm, 1984). We also know that this addition peaks during ontogeny and at times of the year when song learning occurs (Alvarez-Buylla and Nottebohm, 1988;Nordeen and Nordeen, 1988;Alvarez-Buylla et al, 1990). We know, too, that neurons added in adulthood replace others that have died previously (Kirn and Nottebohm, 1993;Kirn et al, 1994;Scharff et al, 2000).…”

Section: Hypothesis 2: the Effect Of Agementioning

confidence: 99%

Age at Deafening Affects the Stability of Learned Song in Adult Male Zebra Finches

2000

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Male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) master the imitation of a song model 80-90 d after hatching and retain it with little change for the rest of their lives. Acquisition and maintenance of this imitation require intact hearing. A previous report showed that male zebra finches deafened as adults start to lose some of the acoustic and temporal features of their song a few weeks after deafening and that by 16 weeks the learned song is severely degraded (Nordeen and Nordeen, 1992). However, this previous study noted no correlation between the age at deafening and the subsequent timing and extent of song loss. We deafened adult male zebra finches ranging in age from 81 d to 6 years. The song of birds deafened at the younger ages (81-175 d) deteriorated severely after a few weeks, and within that age bracket, the older the bird was at deafening, the longer it took for this degradation to occur and the slower the subsequent process of song deterioration. The song of birds deafened at 2 years and older showed little change during the first 51 weeks after deafening but was grossly altered by 100 weeks. We suggest (1) that this age effect could be independent of experience or (2) that each time a bird sings, a little bit of learning-motor engrainment-occurs, adding to memory duration in a cumulative manner.

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“…Approximately 200 HVC3 RA neurons (assuming nonoverlapping windows and a 600 ms song motif) are thought to fire during each window, and the whole population fires in a sparse, serial manner that presumably encodes the learned song pattern (Fee et al, 2004). Previous work showed that relatively high levels of new neuron numbers in HVC correlate with developmental (AlvarezBuylla et al, 1988;Nordeen and Nordeen, 1988) or seasonal (Kirn et al, 1994) periods of song learning. To test this correlation between new neuron numbers and the capacity for song learning, we examined whether measures that extend the sensitive period for song learning also affect new neuron recruitment in HVC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Levels of New Neuron Addition Persist When the Sensitive Period for Song Learning Is Experimentally Prolonged

Wilbrecht

Williams²,

Gangadhar³

et al. 2006

J. Neurosci.

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Socially reared zebra finch males imitate a song they hear during posthatching days 30 -65; during this time, many new neurons are added to the high vocal center (HVC), a forebrain nucleus necessary for the production of learned song. New neuron addition drops sharply after day 65, and no new songs are imitated. In contrast, male zebra finches reared in isolation from other males have more variable songs at day 65 and thereafter can still imitate new sounds (Eales, 1985). We show that, in isolate birds, a greater number of new neurons continues to be added to HVC during the next 85 d, and this number correlates with syllable variability. We suggest that new neuron addition and turnover facilitate song change and that this effect lingers when an expected learning event is delayed.

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Projection neurons within a vocal motor pathway are born during song learning in zebra finches

Cited by 196 publications

References 12 publications

Neurotrophins Suppress Apoptosis Induced by Deafferentation of an Avian Motor-Cortical Region

Neurotrophins Suppress Apoptosis Induced by Deafferentation of an Avian Motor-Cortical Region

Age at Deafening Affects the Stability of Learned Song in Adult Male Zebra Finches

High Levels of New Neuron Addition Persist When the Sensitive Period for Song Learning Is Experimentally Prolonged

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