Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

For whom the bird sings: context-dependent gene expression

E D Jarvis1, C Scharff, M R Grossman

  • 1Laboratory of Animal Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, USA. jarvis@neuro.duke.edu

Neuron
|November 10, 1998
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

From mudflats and saltpans to Open Sea: Plastic ingestion and PBDE/MeO-BDE accumulation in Waterbirds from southern Portugal.

Marine pollution bulletin·2025
Same author

Physiology and fertility of two gull species in relation to plastic additives' exposure.

The Science of the total environment·2024
Same author

Influence of paternal factors on plastic ingestion and brominated chemical exposure in East Tropical Atlantic Procellariid chicks.

The Science of the total environment·2024
Same author

Microplastics ingestion and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) by breeding seabirds in the east tropical Atlantic: Associations with trophic and foraging proxies (δ<sup>15</sup>N and δ<sup>13</sup>C).

The Science of the total environment·2023
Same author

Anthropogenic debris ingestion in a tropical seabird community: Insights from taxonomy and foraging distribution.

The Science of the total environment·2023
Same author

Effects of stress exposure in captivity on physiology and infection in avian hosts: no evidence of increased Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. infectivity to vector ticks.

Microbial ecology·2021
Same journal

Fast-conducting mechanonociceptors uniquely engage reflexive and affective pain circuitry to drive protective responses.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Sparse component analysis: A method that uncovers separable computations within neural population activity.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Spatiomolecular mapping reveals anatomical organization of heterogeneous cell types in the human nucleus accumbens.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

TGF-β1-induced endothelial transcytosis drives blood-brain barrier leakage during aging.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Image space opens up for visual neuroscience.

Neuron·2026
Same journal

Septal GLP-1 receptors control alcohol taking and seeking.

Neuron·2026
See all related articles

Male zebra finches exhibit distinct brain activation patterns for directed and undirected singing. These differences in the anterior forebrain vocal pathway and vocal output nucleus highlight unique neural processes underlying song delivery, even when vocalizations are similar.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Animal Behavior
  • Bioacoustics

Background:

  • Male zebra finches produce two distinct song types: directed and undirected.
  • These songs differ significantly in delivery and social context, despite similar vocalizations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural correlates of directed versus undirected singing in male zebra finches.
  • To identify brain regions with differential activation patterns associated with each song type.

Main Methods:

  • Examined ZENK gene activation in the anterior forebrain vocal pathway and the vocal output nucleus (RA).
  • Compared gene activation patterns during female-directed singing versus undirected singing.

Main Results:

  • Differential ZENK gene activation was observed in medial and lateral "cortical-basal ganglia" subdivisions of the anterior forebrain vocal pathway.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Distinct differences in brain activation were also found in the vocal output nucleus (RA).
  • Conclusions:

    • Despite the subtle differences in vocalizations, directed and undirected singing in zebra finches elicit dramatically different brain activation patterns.
    • These findings suggest distinct neural mechanisms govern the production and delivery of different song types in this species.