HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Steroids, not songs, spur growth of brain regions in sparrows

Neuroscientists are attempting to understand if structural changes in the brain are related to sensory experience or the performance of learned behavior, and now University of Washington researchers have found evidence that one species of songbird apparently has something in common with a few baseball sluggers. Both rely on steroids, birds to increase the size of song production areas of their brain and some players, apparently, to knock a fastball out of the park.

Writing last month in the Journal of Neuroscience, Eliot Brenowitz and his colleagues showed that the Gambels white-crowned sparrow uses testosterone, a naturally occurring steroid, to trigger the seasonal growth of these brain regions. Birds use song to attract mates and mark their territory. Their finding is counter to some previous work with other birds and rodents that indicated environmental factors can influence brain development and create more neuronal connections.

We would like to think that if we shape the environment we can guide the brains structure, said Brenowitz, a UW professor of psychology and biology. But the idea that experience can drive growth of the brain regions that control song behavior in birds was disproved by this study. You can change the experience and the behavior, but you dont change the structure of the brain.The UW scientists found that the three brain regions in white-crowned sparrows that had been deafened were just as large as those regions in normal sparrows. However, the deafened birds only sang one-eighth the number of songs that the hearing birds sang.

To show this, the researchers captured 19 adult male white-crowned sparrows during their fall migration and housed them in short-day light conditions to mimic winter for 12 weeks. Eleven of the birds then were surgically deafened. A week after the surgery, all of the birds were given testosterone implants and were shifted to long-day light conditions, similar to what they w
'"/>

Contact: Joel Schwarz
joels@u.washington.edu
206-543-2580
University of Washington
23-Jul-2007


Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Circadian clock controls plant growth hormone
2. Defects in critical gene lead to accelerated lung tumor growth
3. Chickadee, nutchatch presence in conifers increases tree growth, says CU-Boulder study
4. A new method of adult stem cell growth efficacious in treatment of disorders of the cornea
5. Antibody retards growth and induces death in liver cancer cells
6. Internal clock, external light regulate plant growth
7. Satellite images reveal link between urban growth and changing rainfall patterns
8. Getting to the root of plant growth
9. Mathematics reveals genetic pattern of tumor growth
10. CSHL scientists successfully target tumor microenvironment to stop cancer growth
11. Talcum powder stunts growth of lung tumors

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Steroids not songs spur growth brain regions sparrows

(Date:5/18/2013)... An increasing number of U.S. children are ... according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week ... researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Children,s Hospital found ... exhaled breath compared to their lean counterparts. The ... that can be correlated to potential complications associated ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... The AGA Research Foundation announced a new grant ... the gut microbiota, one of today,s most exciting areas ... The AGA Research Awards Panel selected Andrew T. Chan, ... and Harvard Medical School, Boston, as the 2013 AGA-Elsevier ... receive $25,000 of funding, commencing in July 2013, to ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... noise of the South, but the night belongs to the ... heavy from the humidity and the sounds of wildlife. ... frogs, toads and salamanders, is the center of amphibian biodiversity ... the auditorium for their symphonic choruses, the scientists of the ... have front-row seats. , Amphibians, which rely on ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health 2New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health 3New gut microbiome research to explore red meat -- colorectal cancer pathway 2Front-row seats to climate change 2Front-row seats to climate change 3Front-row seats to climate change 4
(Date:5/17/2013)... Topricin Pain Relief and Healing Cream, ... among nationally recommended over-the-counter (OTC) health products 2012 ... News" Health in collaboration with "Pharmacy Times." ... Pharmacists Recommended designation” in the “Topical Analgesics” category, ... is the only homeopathic formula to earn that ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... May 17, 2013 Dr. Sparano is ... Women’s Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine ... the Montefiore Medical Center. He is also Associate ... and leads the Einstein Breast Cancer Working Group, a ... breast cancer research. He also serves as Vice Chair ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... 17, 2013 Oven Industries Inc. announces ... 5R6-900 temperature controller has many user-friendly benefits. Contained all ... the wall as a self-contained temperature control ... detail makes the device unique, as well as highly ... also be used universally, which allows the user to ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... recipient,s immune system identifies the transplanted organ as foreign ... T cells, the immune cells that mediate rejection, must ... order to migrate to the transplanted organ. In this ... Fadi Lakkis and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh ... cells is not required for migration. Instead, these cells ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Pharmacists' Picks: Topical BioMedics' Topricin Listed on Top Recommended OTC Health Products 2Joseph A. Sparano, MD, Named Vice Chair of ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group 2Joseph A. Sparano, MD, Named Vice Chair of ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group 3New Temperature Control Products Announced by Oven Industries Inc. 2
Cached News: