Hippocampal Growth and Attrition in Birds Affected by Experience

Overview

Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Specialty Science

Date 1994 Aug 2

PMID 8052598

Citations 46

Authors

N S Clayton

J R Krebs

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Hand-raised marsh tits (Parus palustris) were exposed to experience of storing and retrieving food at three different ages (35-59, 60-83, 115-138 days posthatch). At equivalent ages, control birds were given identical experience except for storing and retrieving food. Volumetric analysis was carried out to measure the hippocampal region, ectostriatum, and telencephalon of experienced and control birds. Individuals with experience of storing and retrieving food had a larger hippocampal region relative to the rest of the telencephalon than did controls, independent of age. The hippocampal region of experienced birds also contained more neurons and fewer apoptotic cells than that of controls. No volumetric differences were observed in ectostriatum, which served as a control brain region. The results suggest that some aspect of food-storing and retrieval directly influences growth and attrition of the hippocampal region in food-storing birds.

Citing Articles

Is episodic-like memory episodic memory?.

Davies J, Clayton N Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2024; 379(1913):20230397.

PMID: 39278246 PMC: 11449162. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0397.

Object permanence in rooks (Corvus frugilegus): Individual differences and behavioral considerations.

Cornero F, Clayton N Learn Behav. 2024; 53(1):93-113.

PMID: 39227504 PMC: 11880163. DOI: 10.3758/s13420-024-00637-0.

Adding the neuro to cognition: from food storing to nest building.

Healy S Anim Cogn. 2022; 26(1):249-260.

PMID: 36482117 PMC: 9876861. DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01725-2.

Neural Substrates of Homing Pigeon Spatial Navigation: Results From Electrophysiology Studies.

Hough G Front Psychol. 2022; 13:867939.

PMID: 35465504 PMC: 9020565. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.867939.

Learning Ability and Hippocampal Transcriptome Responses to Early and Later Life Environmental Complexities in Dual-Purpose Chicks.

Yan C, Liu W, Xiao J, Xiang H, Wang J, Zhang H Animals (Basel). 2022; 12(5).

PMID: 35268235 PMC: 8909157. DOI: 10.3390/ani12050668.

References

Erichsen J, Bingman V, Krebs J . The distribution of neuropeptides in the dorsomedial telencephalon of the pigeon (Columba livia): a basis for regional subdivisions. J Comp Neurol. 1991; 314(3):478-92. DOI: 10.1002/cne.903140306. View

Luisi B . DNA transcription. Zinc standard for economy. Nature. 1992; 356(6368):379-80. DOI: 10.1038/356379a0. View

Freeman R, Estus S, Horigome K, Johnson Jr E . Cell death genes in invertebrates and (maybe) vertebrates. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1993; 3(1):25-31. DOI: 10.1016/0959-4388(93)90031-s. View

Healy S, Krebs J . Development of hippocampal specialisation in a food-storing bird. Behav Brain Res. 1993; 53(1-2):127-31. DOI: 10.1016/s0166-4328(05)80272-4. View

Montagnese C, Krebs J, Szekely A, Csillag A . A subpopulation of large calbindin-like immunopositive neurones is present in the hippocampal formation in food-storing but not in non-storing species of bird. Brain Res. 1993; 614(1-2):291-300. DOI: 10.1016/0006-8993(93)91047-v. View

Sherry D, Jacobs L, Gaulin S . Spatial memory and adaptive specialization of the hippocampus. Trends Neurosci. 1992; 15(8):298-303. DOI: 10.1016/0166-2236(92)90080-r. View

Cramer C, Pfister J, Haig K . Experience during suckling alters later spatial learning. Dev Psychobiol. 1988; 21(1):1-24. DOI: 10.1002/dev.420210102. View

Cramer C . Experience during suckling increases weight and volume of rat hippocampus. Brain Res. 1988; 470(1):151-5. DOI: 10.1016/0165-3806(88)90212-x. View

Krebs J, Sherry D, Healy S, Perry V, Vaccarino A . Hippocampal specialization of food-storing birds. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989; 86(4):1388-92. PMC: 286696. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.86.4.1388. View

10.

Bottjer S, Sengelaub D . Cell death during development of a forebrain nucleus involved with vocal learning in zebra finches. J Neurobiol. 1989; 20(7):609-18. DOI: 10.1002/neu.480200702. View

11.

Nordeen E, Nordeen K . Neurogenesis and sensitive periods in avian song learning. Trends Neurosci. 1990; 13(1):31-6. DOI: 10.1016/0166-2236(90)90060-n. View

12.

Sherry D, Vaccarino A, Buckenham K, Herz R . The hippocampal complex of food-storing birds. Brain Behav Evol. 1989; 34(5):308-17. DOI: 10.1159/000116516. View

13.

Krebs J . Food-storing birds: adaptive specialization in brain and behaviour?. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1990; 329(1253):153-60. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.1990.0160. View

14.

Bingman V, Yates G . Hippocampal lesions impair navigational learning in experienced homing pigeons. Behav Neurosci. 1992; 106(1):229-32. DOI: 10.1037//0735-7044.106.1.229. View