Dissociable effects of social context on song and doublecortin immunoreactivity in male canaries

Alward, B. A., Mayes, W. D., Peng, K., Stevenson, T. J. , Balthazart, J. and Ball, G. F. (2014) Dissociable effects of social context on song and doublecortin immunoreactivity in male canaries. European Journal of Neuroscience, 40(6), pp. 2941-2947. (doi: 10.1111/ejn.12658) (PMID:24974859) (PMCID:PMC4528916)

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Abstract

Variation in environmental factors such as day length and social context greatly affects reproductive behavior and the brain areas that regulate these behaviors. One such behavior is song in songbirds, which males use to attract a mate during the breeding season. In these species the absence of a potential mate leads to an increase in the number of songs produced, while the presence of a mate greatly diminishes singing. Interestingly, although long days promote song behavior, producing song itself can promote the incorporation of new neurons in brain regions controlling song output. Social context can also affect such neuroplasticity in these song control nuclei. The goal of the present study was to investigate in canaries (Serinus canaria), a songbird species, how photoperiod and social context affect song and the incorporation of new neurons, as measured by the microtubule‐associated protein doublecortin (DCX) in HVC, a key vocal production brain region of the song control system. We show that long days increased HVC size and singing activity. In addition, male canaries paired with a female for 2 weeks showed enhanced DCX‐immunoreactivity in HVC relative to birds housed alone. Strikingly, however, paired males sang fewer songs that exhibited a reduction in acoustic features such as song complexity and energy, compared with birds housed alone, which sang prolifically. These results show that social presence plays a significant role in the regulation of neural and behavioral plasticity in songbirds and can exert these effects in opposition to what might be expected based on activity‐induced neurogenesis.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This work was supported by an NIH/NINDS RO1 35467 to G.F.B. and an Inter university Attraction Pole (IAP) grant number SSTC PAI P7/17 from the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) to J.B. and G.F.B. T.J.S. was supported by NSERC-PGSD 334570.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Stevenson, Professor Tyler
Authors: Alward, B. A., Mayes, W. D., Peng, K., Stevenson, T. J., Balthazart, J., and Ball, G. F.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Journal Name:European Journal of Neuroscience
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:0953-816X
ISSN (Online):1460-9568
Published Online:26 June 2014

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