Neurogenomic insights into the behavioral and vocal development of the zebra finch

Abstract

The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a socially monogamous and colonial opportunistic breeder with pronounced sexual differences in singing and plumage coloration. Its natural history has led to it becoming a model species for research into sex differences in vocal communication, as well as behavioral, neural and genomic studies of imitative auditory learning. As scientists tap into the genetic and behavioral diversity of both wild and captive lineages, the zebra finch will continue to inform research into culture, learning, and social bonding, as well as adaptability to a changing climate.

Keywords: ecology; natural history of model organisms; neuroscience; recognition systems; song culture; vocal development; zebra finch.

Figure 1.. Adult zebra finches in the wild.

Four female and nine male adult zebra finches in the wild in Australia. As the species experiences increasingly extreme climatic fluctuations, future field studies of the zebra finch should also advance our understanding how opportunistically breeding species are able to adapt to accelerating climate change (photo credit: Simon C Griffith).

Figure 2.. Timeline and brain pathways of auditory and vocal learning in the zebra finch.

(A) Timeline of sensory (auditory learning) and sensory-motor (vocal self-assessment and song-production) critical periods in zebra finch song development. (B) Brain nuclei of male zebra finches for auditory learning (CN: cochlear nucleus; MLd: mesencephalicus lateralis pars dorsalis; OV: nucleus ovoidalis; field L: primary auditory forebrain input area; NCM: caudomedial nidopallium; CMM: caudomedial mesopallium; VTA: ventral tegmental area; and AIV: ventral portion of the intermediate arcopallium), vocal learning (HVC, Area X: basal ganglia; LMAN: lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium; DLM: nucleus dorsolateralis anterior thalami, pars medialis), and vocal production (HVC, and RA: robust nucleus of the arcopallium).

Figure 3.. Spectrograms of zebra finch songs and calls.

Spectrogram of tutor and tutee adult male zebra finch songs, and undirected contact calls of adult females and males. Spectrograms represent time (x-axes) and pitch (y-axes) with greater amplitude as increasing brightness. Note the similarity of the tutor (typically social father) and tutee (son) song pair of male zebra finches and the distinct sexual differences of the calls.