Life Sciences Commons^™

Net Addition And Long-Term Survival Of Adult-Born Neurons In The Zebra Finch Hvc: Why Replace When You Can Keep Them All?, Clare Walton

Student Theses and Dissertations

The study of neurogenesis in adult songbirds focused initially on the canary, a species that learns new song elements each year. Many neurons in the canary song control nucleus, HVC, are discarded every year, with cell loss peaking at the end of the breeding season. New neurons numerically replace those that have died and this replacement process occurs at a time when vocal output is most plastic, suggesting adult neurogenesis may have a role in the learning process. It is not known, however, whether spontaneous neuronal replacement accompanies recruitment of new HVC neurons in the adult zebra finch, a species …