Castration modulates singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of RA projection neurons in adult male zebra finches
Castration can change levels of plasma testosterone. Androgens such as testosterone play an important role in stabilizing birdsong. The robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) is an important premotor nucleus critical for singing. In this study, we investigated the effect of castration on singing pat...
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PeerJ Inc.
2014-04-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/352.pdf |
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| author | Songhua Wang Congshu Liao Fengling Li Shaoyi Liu Wei Meng Dongfeng Li |
| author_facet | Songhua Wang Congshu Liao Fengling Li Shaoyi Liu Wei Meng Dongfeng Li |
| author_sort | Songhua Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Castration can change levels of plasma testosterone. Androgens such as testosterone play an important role in stabilizing birdsong. The robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) is an important premotor nucleus critical for singing. In this study, we investigated the effect of castration on singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of projection neurons (PNs) in the RA of adult male zebra finches. Adult male zebra finches were castrated and the changes in bird song assessed. We also recorded the electrophysiological changes from RA PNs using patch clamp recording. We found that the plasma levels of testosterone were significantly decreased, song syllable’s entropy was increased and the similarity of motif was decreased after castration. Spontaneous and evoked firing rates, membrane time constants, and membrane capacitance of RA PNs in the castration group were lower than those of the control and the sham groups. Afterhyperpolarization AHP time to peak of spontaneous action potential (AP) was prolonged after castration.These findings suggest that castration decreases song stereotypy and excitability of RA PNs in male zebra finches. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:45:55Z |
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| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:45:55Z |
| publishDate | 2014-04-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-057187aa9c20481598e6d5431bc121632023-12-03T10:35:06ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592014-04-012e35210.7717/peerj.352352Castration modulates singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of RA projection neurons in adult male zebra finchesSonghua Wang0Congshu Liao1Fengling Li2Shaoyi Liu3Wei Meng4Dongfeng Li5School of Life Science, South China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Environmental Science in Higher Education of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Life Science, South China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Environmental Science in Higher Education of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Life Science, South China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Environmental Science in Higher Education of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Life Science, South China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Environmental Science in Higher Education of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Life Science, South China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Environmental Science in Higher Education of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, ChinaSchool of Life Science, South China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Environmental Science in Higher Education of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, ChinaCastration can change levels of plasma testosterone. Androgens such as testosterone play an important role in stabilizing birdsong. The robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) is an important premotor nucleus critical for singing. In this study, we investigated the effect of castration on singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of projection neurons (PNs) in the RA of adult male zebra finches. Adult male zebra finches were castrated and the changes in bird song assessed. We also recorded the electrophysiological changes from RA PNs using patch clamp recording. We found that the plasma levels of testosterone were significantly decreased, song syllable’s entropy was increased and the similarity of motif was decreased after castration. Spontaneous and evoked firing rates, membrane time constants, and membrane capacitance of RA PNs in the castration group were lower than those of the control and the sham groups. Afterhyperpolarization AHP time to peak of spontaneous action potential (AP) was prolonged after castration.These findings suggest that castration decreases song stereotypy and excitability of RA PNs in male zebra finches.https://peerj.com/articles/352.pdfCastrationTestosteroneBirdsongRobust nucleus of the arcopalliumMale zebra finchesProjection neurons |
| spellingShingle | Songhua Wang Congshu Liao Fengling Li Shaoyi Liu Wei Meng Dongfeng Li Castration modulates singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of RA projection neurons in adult male zebra finches PeerJ Castration Testosterone Birdsong Robust nucleus of the arcopallium Male zebra finches Projection neurons |
| title | Castration modulates singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of RA projection neurons in adult male zebra finches |
| title_full | Castration modulates singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of RA projection neurons in adult male zebra finches |
| title_fullStr | Castration modulates singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of RA projection neurons in adult male zebra finches |
| title_full_unstemmed | Castration modulates singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of RA projection neurons in adult male zebra finches |
| title_short | Castration modulates singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of RA projection neurons in adult male zebra finches |
| title_sort | castration modulates singing patterns and electrophysiological properties of ra projection neurons in adult male zebra finches |
| topic | Castration Testosterone Birdsong Robust nucleus of the arcopallium Male zebra finches Projection neurons |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/352.pdf |
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