Research article summary (published 30 Aug 2008):

Dietary retinoic acid affects song maturation and gene expression in the song system of the zebra finch.

Full Abstract

Vitamin A, an essential nutrient, is required in its acidic form (retinoic acid) for normal embryogenesis and neuronal development, typically within well-defined concentration ranges. In zebra finches, a songbird species, localized retinoic acid synthesis in the brain is important for the development of song, a learned behavior sharing significant commonalities with speech acquisition in humans. We tested how dietary retinoic acid affects the development of song behavior and the brain's system for song control. Supplemental doses of retinoic acid given to juveniles during the critical period for song learning resulted in more variable or plastic-like songs when the birds reached adulthood, compared to the normal songs of vehicle-fed controls. We also observed that several genes (brinp1, nrgn, rxr-alpha, and sdr2/scdr9) had altered levels of expression in specific nuclei of the song system when comparing the experimental and control diet groups. Interestingly, we found significant correlations between gene expression levels in nuclei of the anterior forebrain pathway (lMAN and area X) and the degree of variability in the recorded songs. We observed, however, no major morphological effects such as changes in the volumes of song nuclei. Overall, our results lend further support to a fundamental role of retinoic acid in song maturation and point to possible molecular pathways associated with this action. The data also demonstrate that dietary content of Vitamin A can affect the maturation of a naturally learned complex behavior.

Author information

Author/s: Wood, William E (WE); Olson, Christopher R (CR); Lovell, Peter V (PV); Mello, Claudio V (CV);

Affiliation: Neurological Sciences Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, Oregon 97006, USA.

Grants: 1F32-NS054267 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS) ; 2R01-DC002853 (Agency:NIDCD NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

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

Journal: Developmental neurobiology (Dev Neurobiol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Sep; vol 68 (issue 10) : pp 1213-24

Dates: Created 2008/07/23; Completed 2008/10/20;

PMID: 18548487, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00)

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.

Aging - genetics; metabolism Animals Brain - anatomy & histology; drug effects; physiology Critical Period (Psychology) Finches - metabolism; physiology Food, Formulated Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental - drug effects; physiology High Vocal Center - drug effects; growth & development; metabolism Learning - drug effects; physiology Male

Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics Neural Pathways - drug effects; growth & development; metabolism Neuregulin-1 - genetics Prosencephalon - drug effects; growth & development; metabolism Receptors, Cell Surface - genetics Retinoid X Receptor alpha - genetics Sound Spectrography Tretinoin - metabolism; pharmacology Vitamin A - metabolism Vocalization, Animal - drug effects; physiology

Associated Chemicals: Nerve Tissue Proteins (0) ; Neuregulin-1 (0) ; Receptors, Cell Surface (0) ; Retinoid X Receptor alpha (0) ; stromal cell-derived receptor 2, mouse (0) ; Vitamin A (11103-57-4) ; Tretinoin (302-79-4)

Related articles

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

• Functional identification of sensory mechanisms required for developmental song learning. 4 Apr 2008
• Rapid interhemispheric switching during vocal production in a songbird. 12 Oct 2008
• Developmental origin and identity of song system neurons born during vocal learning in songbirds. 8 May 2007
• GABA immunoreactivity in auditory and song control brain areas of zebra finches. 25 Mar 2007
• Collapsin response mediator protein-4 (CRMP-4) expression in posthaching development of song control nuclei in Bengalese finches. 31 May 2008
• Distinct periods of cannabinoid sensitivity during zebra finch vocal development. 23 Nov 2004
• Developmental modulation of the temporal relationship between brain and behavior. 30 Oct 2006
• Hemispheric coordination is necessary for song production in adult birds: implications for a dual role for forebrain nuclei in vocal motor control. 29 Oct 2007
• Developmental learning of complex syntactical song in the Bengalese finch: a neural network model. 28 Mar 2008
• FnTm2, a novel brain-specific transcript, is dynamically expressed in the song learning circuit of the zebra finch. 8 Sep 2007

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.