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Selectivity of canary HVC neurons for the bird's own song: modulation by photoperiodic conditions.
- Source :
-
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience [J Neurosci] 2005 May 18; Vol. 25 (20), pp. 4952-63. - Publication Year :
- 2005
-
Abstract
- To what extent seasonal factors modify the neuronal functional properties within the nuclei of the avian song system remains an open question. In adult songbirds, neurons of the song premotor nucleus HVC (used as a proper name) exhibit selective responses for the bird's own song (BOS). Here we examine whether, outside the breeding season, when songs are less stereotyped, HVC neurons of male canaries still respond selectively to the BOS produced during this period. In an initial experiment, single-unit recordings (n = 114) revealed that the neuronal selectivity for the current BOS was attenuated in males exposed to a short-day photoperiod (typical of the nonbreeding season) compared with that found in males exposed to a long-day photoperiod. In long-day conditions, 35% of the cells responded to the BOS, whereas only 12% did in short-day conditions; there were four times more selective cells (d' > 1) in long-day than in short-day conditions. To determine whether these effects were the consequence of differences in acoustic features between breeding and nonbreeding songs, neurons (n = 72) recorded in short-day conditions were tested with both a short-day BOS and a long-day BOS. A low percentage of neurons exhibited responses to short-day or to long-day BOS (11% for each song). Responses of putative interneurons (spike duration < 0.4 ms) and of putative relay cells were similarly attenuated by the short-day conditions. These results strongly suggest that, in canary, rather than being a fixed property, the selectivity for the BOS moves along a continuum and peaks when the day length mimics the breeding conditions.
- Subjects :
- Acoustic Stimulation methods
Action Potentials physiology
Action Potentials radiation effects
Analysis of Variance
Animals
Auditory Perception radiation effects
Behavior, Animal
Discrimination, Psychological physiology
Male
Neurons classification
Time Factors
Auditory Perception physiology
Canaries physiology
Neurons radiation effects
Photoperiod
Prosencephalon cytology
Vocalization, Animal radiation effects
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1529-2401
- Volume :
- 25
- Issue :
- 20
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 15901776
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4847-04.2005