How to translate text using browser tools
1 July 2006 Effects of visual stimulation on the auditory responses of the HVC song control nucleus in anesthetized Bengalese Finches
Yoshimasa SEKI, Kazuo OKANOYA
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

In songbirds, the auditory neurons of the telencephalic song control nuclei, especially those in the high vocal center (HVC), respond to the bird's own song (BOS) selectively. Since songs are elicited by the sight of conspecific females and interrupted by intense visual stimulation, such as strobe lights, visual input might modulate this auditory selectivity. This study used acute electrophysiological experiments using Bengalese Finches (Lonchura striata var. domestica) to examine whether strobe lights affect this auditory response. The results showed that visual inputs did not affect the neural activities in response to the BOS. When the visual stimulus was presented alone, we did not record comparable neural activities to auditory stimuli, although vague, weak electrical potential fluctuations were observed. This means that direct visual inputs do not reach all HVC neurons that have BOS selectivity, and the effects of visual information might be very limited in the song control system. Although visual information should have some relationship to singing behaviors, such effects might be mediated by indirect connections from the visual system via unidentified emotional modules.

Yoshimasa SEKI and Kazuo OKANOYA "Effects of visual stimulation on the auditory responses of the HVC song control nucleus in anesthetized Bengalese Finches," Ornithological Science 5(1), 39-46, (1 July 2006). https://doi.org/10.2326/osj.5.39
Received: 7 May 2006; Accepted: 1 May 2006; Published: 1 July 2006
KEYWORDS
Bengalese Finches (Lonchura striata var. domestica)
electrophysiology
HVC
Visual stimulus
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top