A song system, also known as a song control system (SCS), is a series of discrete brain nuclei involved in the production and learning of song in

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5000 ...

s. It was first observed by

Fernando Nottebohm Fernando Nottebohm (born 1940 in Buenos Aires) is a neuroscientist and the Dorothea L. Leonhardt Professor at Rockefeller University, as well as being head of the Laboratory of Animal Behavior and director of the Field Research Center for Ecology ...

in 1976 in a paper titled "Central control of song in the canary, ''Serinus canarius''", published in the ''Journal of Comparative Neurology''.

Operation

Based on

lesion A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by disease or trauma. ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin "injury". Lesions may occur in plants as well as animals. Types There is no designated classif ...

studies in the

zebra finch The zebra finches are two species of estrildid finch in the genus ''Taeniopygia'' found in Australia and Indonesia. They are seed-eaters that travel in large flocks. The species are: Previously, both species were classified as a single specie ...

, the song system can be broken into two general pathways. The direct/descending motor pathway is both necessary and sufficient for normal song production, while the anterior forebrain pathway (AFP)is necessary for song learning but not production. Juvenile birds who have not yet fully learned their songs and that have lesions of the AFP never learn to make normal songs. Adult birds who experience these same lesions continue to sing normally for some time. The song system is

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

in many species of songbirds, especially in species in which the male primarily sings.

System model

The song system has emerged as leading model of adult

neural plasticity Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity, or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it p ...

. The song system is the first neural circuit in which it was conclusively demonstrated that newly generated neurons are incorporated into the brains of adults vertebrates. Some seasonally-breeding songbird brains vary in volume,

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. ...

number, and density depending on the time of year, and these changes in the brain are driven by changes in circulating levels of

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristi ...

External links

Fernando Nottebohm's "Central control of song in the canary, ''Serinus canarius''"

Operation

System model

External links

See also