Sexual imprinting as a two-stage process: mechanisms of information storage and stabilization

Oetting, Sabine; Pröve, Ekkehard; Bischof, Hans‐Joachim

doi:10.1006/anbe.1995.0254

Cited by 59 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The same explanation can probably be applied for the LNH. If so, this area may also be involved in sexual imprinting, which can likewise be delayed by isolation until day 100 [4,11,19]. The HA, in contrast, seems to increase and decrease the complexity of the neuronal net depending on the (social) complexity of the environment: if the bird is isolated, the complexity of the neuronal net within the HA is lower than in situations with social companions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Activity-dependent plasticity in visual forebrain areas of the zebra finch

Rollenhagen

Bischof

1996

Behavioural Brain Research

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It has previously been shown that the activity of some areas of the forebrain of birds is dependent on the arousal level of the animal. Other areas do not show this dependency. This paper, on the basis of 2-DG experiments and spine density measurements on Golgi-impregnated tissue, shows that primary telencephalic target areas of the two visual pathways of zebra finch males are not dependent on arousal for activation. In contrast, secondary areas of both visual pathways show arousal-dependent activation. Only the secondary visual areas also show effects of rearing conditions on the spine density: isolation of the birds from day 40 reduces spine density in the hyperstriatum accessorium (HA) of the thalamofugal pathway, and enhances spine density in the lateral neo/hyperstriatum (LNH, tectofugal pathway) significantly from day 80, if compared to aviary-reared birds. A 1-week exposure to a female eliminates the isolation effects in both areas. A second isolation period again reduces the spine density in the HA, but does not enhance it again in the LNH. By comparison with previous studies, we conclude that the spine density in the HA reflects the complexity of the social environment. The irreversible reduction of spine density in the LNH as consequence of the 7-day exposure to a female is interpreted as physiological correlate of an imprinting process, which has previously been shown to occur at the same time. The effects in both areas, the HA and LNH, are dependent on arousal, which may be mediated by brainstem efferents innervating the secondary, but not the primary, visual areas in birds and in mammals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Activity-dependent plasticity in visual forebrain areas of the zebra finch

Rollenhagen

Bischof

1996

Behavioural Brain Research

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“…Sexual imprinting is supposed to occur in two stages; an early acquisition phase where a sexual preference is established and a subsequent consolidation stage where the early-acquired preference is linked to sexual behaviour and stabilized (Immelmann et al 1991;Kruijt & Meeuwissen 1991;Oetting et al 1995;Oetting & Bischof 1996). This means that the inital sexual imprinting can be modi-ed from social experience (ten Cate 1984;Immelmann et al 1991;Kruijt & Meeuwissen 1991;Oetting & Bischof 1996), as re ected in physiological changes in speci c areas of the forebrain (Bischof & Rollenhagen 1999;Rollenhagen & Bischof 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the results were mainly obtained from experiments in captivity with isolated birds. The hypotheses should therefore be tested under more natural circumstances (Kruijt & Meeuwissen 1991;Oetting et al 1995;Oetting & Bischof 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mate choice and imprinting in birds studied by cross-fostering in the wild

Slagsvold

Hansen

Johannessen

et al. 2002

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

138

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Sexual-selection theories generally assume that mating preferences are heritable traits. However, there is substantial evidence that the rearing environment may be important for the development of mating preferences, indicating that they may be learnt, or modi ed by experience. The relative importance of such sexual imprinting across species remains largely unexplored. Here, we report results of a large-scale crossfostering experiment in the wild in which nestling birds were raised by parents of a different species. We show that resulting sexual imprinting may have a negative effect on pairing success in one species (the great tit, Parus major), but not in two other species (the blue tit, P. caeruleus and the pied ycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca). A remarkable variation thus seems to exist, even between species that are congeneric and have similar breeding ecologies. The cross-fostering resulted in heterospeci c pairings between the two tit species (female blue tit breeding with male great tit), which has never, to our knowledge, been previously documented. However, the chicks edging from these nests were all blue tit.

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“…Observation of another adult male quail responding sexually to an unusual object may have little effect at this age. The sensitive period for sexual imprinting starts shortly after hatching and ends around 4-5 weeks of age (Oetting, Prove, & Bischof, 1995). It may be that the responses of a demonstrator have a greater influence on observers that are closer to the age of sexual imprinting.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%