Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
2004-1-15
pubmed:abstractText
Vocal learning in songbirds provides an excellent model for sensorimotor learning in vertebrates, with an accessible, well-defined behavior and discrete neural substrate. The rich behavioral plasticity exhibited by songbirds, however, contrasts starkly with the scarcity of candidate cellular mechanisms. Here, we report for the first time on an activity-dependent form of synaptic plasticity in area X, a component of the song system required for song learning and song maintenance. In slice preparations of zebra finch area X, pairing of high-frequency presynaptic stimulation with postsynaptic depolarization induces Hebbian long-term potentiation (LTP) of the glutamatergic inputs to spiny neurons. This form of LTP requires activation of NMDA receptors and D1-like dopamine receptors. In addition, LTP is observed in birds as young as 47 d after hatching and also in adult birds but not in younger birds, providing evidence of developmental regulation of the onset of synaptic plasticity. These properties make this form of LTP the best known candidate mechanism for reinforcement-based vocal learning in juveniles and song maintenance in adult birds.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
1529-2401
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
14
pubmed:volume
24
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
488-94
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2004
pubmed:articleTitle
Long-term potentiation in an avian basal ganglia nucleus essential for vocal learning.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. dingl@nei.nih.gov
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't