Neural Regulation of Song and Courtship Behavior in Male Songbirds

University Of Nebraska At Omaha, Omaha NE

Investigators

Abstract

In many songbirds the function of male song changes depending upon whether it is sung within or outside of the breeding season. During the breeding season males use song to attract females. Outside of the breeding season song is often used to maintain territories or dominance hierarchies. Song learning, production, and perception is known to be regulated by a specific group of nuclei, "the song control system"; however, little is known about brain areas regulating the motivation to sing. Singing during the spring breeding season in male starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) is observed prior to sexual behavior and likely reflects male sexual arousal. Consistent with this idea, the medial preoptic area, a brain area known to be involved in sexual motivation, regulates song in spring. Nothing is known about the role of the medial preoptic nucleus in song sung outside of the breeding season, or about how this nucleus might interact with the song control circuit. The present proposal is designed to further explore the hypothesis that the preoptic area plays a general role in sexual motivation by exploring its involvement in fall song, and to begin to map out possible neuroanatomical connections between the medial preoptic area and the song control system.