The analysis of neuronal mechanism of the nucleus in the midbrain related to calling behavior with sexual difference in birds

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The purpose of this study is to clarify the neural function and anatomical structure at the cellular level in network of the dorsomedial nucleus(DM) in the vocal control system and in the producing of sexually different acoustic structures of distance calls(DC) of instinct behavior in sexually mature Bengalese finches (Lonchura striata var. domestica) Immature males and females have acoustically similar distance calls and in sexually mature male, the acoustic structures of distance calls show sexual differences. This behavioral dichotomy is due to innervation of the neural input from RA to DM when robust nucleus of the arichistriatum (RA) in the male developed sexually mature. The above findings are results of analyzing acoustic structures of distance calls before and after electrolytic lesions of the bilateral RA in sexually mature males. After bilateral RA lesioning, these males have produced distance calls acoustically similar to those of female. We studied at the cellular level rec … More ording of the impulses of neurons in the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA) by cell patch clamp.In this study, whole cell patch clamp recordings were made from neurons of the slice preparation in the RA, which is a motor control nucleus of male-specific vocalization in male birds of different developmental stage. We focused on the firing patterns in the neural activity of RA neurons, and also focused on the difference in neural activity between the "sensory motor learning" stage and the "after crystallization" stage. The neurons in the RA were categorized into three types according to their electrophysiological properties under voltage clamp recording. The three types are "non-spike", "single-spike" and "multi-spike" type neurons. Distribution ratios of the three types changed during developments. We compared the distribution of the three types of these neurons in the two different learning stages. The distribution ratios of multi-spike type neuron was significantly higher than that of the single-spike type neuron in the sensory motor learning stage, and the relationship between the distribution ratios was reversed in the after crystallization stage. No significant difference between the distribution ratios of the non-spike type neuron in the two learning stages was observed Less