Research article summary (published 3 Mar 2008):

Bottom-up activation of the vocal motor forebrain by the respiratory brainstem.

Full Abstract

Brainstem motor structures send output commands to the periphery and are dynamically modulated by telencephalic inputs. Little is known, however, about ascending brainstem control of forebrain motor structures. Here, we provide the first evidence for bottom-up activation of forebrain motor centers by the respiratory brainstem. We show that, in the avian vocal control system, activation of the brainstem inspiratory nucleus paraambigualus (PAm), a likely homolog of the mammalian rostral ventral respiratory group, can drive neural activity bilaterally in the forebrain vocal control nuclei HVC (used as a proper name) and the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA). Furthermore, this activation is abolished by lesions of nucleus uvaeformis (Uva), a thalamic nucleus necessary for song production. We identify a type of bursting neuron within PAm whose activity is correlated, in an Uva dependent manner, to bursting activity in RA, rather than to the respiratory rhythm, and is robustly active during the production of stimulus evoked vocalizations. Because this ascending input results in cross-hemisphere activation, our results suggest a crucial role for the respiratory brainstem in coordinating forebrain motor centers during vocal production.

Author information

Author/s: Ashmore, Robin C (RC); Renk, Jessica A (JA); Schmidt, Marc F (MF);

Affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

Grants: R01 DC006102 (Agency:NIDCD NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience (J Neurosci), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Mar; vol 28 (issue 10) : pp 2613-23

Dates: Created 2008/03/06; Completed 2008/04/07;

PMID: 18322104, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Animals Brain Stem - physiology Finches Male

Neural Pathways - physiology Prosencephalon - physiology Respiratory Center - physiology Vocalization, Animal - physiology

Related articles

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

• A specialized forebrain circuit for vocal babbling in the juvenile songbird. 30 Apr 2008
• Electrical stimulation in forebrain nuclei elicits learned vocal patterns in songbirds. 30 May 1995
• Neurons in a forebrain nucleus required for vocal plasticity rapidly switch between precise firing and variable bursting depending on social context. Dec 2008
• Comparative aspects of amygdala connectivity. 30 Mar 2003
• Neural representation of spectral and temporal features of song in the auditory forebrain of zebra finches as revealed by functional MRI. 21 Oct 2007
• Histaminergic facilitation of electrocorticographic activation: role of basal forebrain, thalamus, and neocortex. 29 Sep 2003
• Auditory-dependent vocal recovery in adult male zebra finches is facilitated by lesion of a forebrain pathway that includes the basal ganglia. 5 Nov 2007
• Using temperature to analyse temporal dynamics in the songbird motor pathway. 11 Nov 2008
• Separable brainstem and forebrain contributions to ultrasonic vocalizations in infant rats. 30 Jul 2005
• Functional organization of forebrain pathways for song production and perception. 30 Oct 1997

See 100+ related articles.

Related Article Map

Legend: - FREE Full text Article. - Abstract only. - Title only. More help.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.