Seminar: “Neural mechanisms for preference and perception in a female songbird” by Prof. Sarah C Woolley

Prof. Sarah C Woolley from Department of Biology, McGill University, Canada

Title:

Neural mechanisms for preference and perception in a female songbird

Abstract:

Vocal communication signals are critical in social interactions across many species. In the zebra finch, a small, gregarious songbird, males produce learned vocal signals (‘songs’) during courtship interactions with females. Female zebra finches do not sing, but use songs to recognize individuals and select mates. The ability of females to extract and use information from song is a critical feature of songbird communication.  Moreover, this ability is influenced by auditory and social experiences in development as well as adulthood.  However, we still know little about either the role of experience in shaping female song perception and preference or the neural circuits involved in encoding those preferences. Here, I will discuss recent data from my lab investigating female song perception and how it is modulated by social and auditory experience during development.  In particular, we have characterized the responses of forebrain auditory regions as well as mid- and hindbrain catecholaminergic neurons to preferred and less preferred stimuli.  We find that the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), a secondary auditory cortical area, and the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a dopamine-synthesizing region in the midbrain, both show increased activity-dependent protein expression in response to preferred songs.  Moreover, pairing passive exposure to song with infusion of dopaminergic drugs into the NCM can reverse otherwise stable song preferences.  However, we find that both species-typical preferences and differential changes in activity in the NCM and VTA are dependent on developmental song exposure. Together, these data highlight the importance of developmental auditory experience in tuning neural and behavioral responses to song and indicate that midbrain dopaminergic activity may participate in encoding female song preference through effects on secondary auditory cortex.