Profiling of experience-regulated proteins in the songbird auditory forebrain using quantitative proteomics.
Abstract
Auditory and perceptual processing of songs are required for a number of behaviors
in songbirds such as vocal learning, territorial defense, mate selection and individual
recognition. These neural processes are accompanied by increased expression of a few
transcription factors, particularly in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), an auditory
forebrain area believed to play a key role in auditory learning and song discrimination.
However, these molecular changes are presumably part of a larger, yet uncharacterized,
protein regulatory network. In order to gain further insight into this network, we
performed two-dimensional differential in-gel expression (2D-DIGE) experiments, extensive
protein quantification analyses, and tandem mass spectrometry in the NCM of adult
songbirds hearing novel songs. A subset of proteins was selected for immunocytochemistry
in NCM sections to confirm the 2D-DIGE findings and to provide additional quantitative
and anatomical information. Using these methodologies, we found that stimulation of
freely behaving birds with conspecific songs did not significantly impact the NCM
proteome 5 min after stimulus onset. However, following 1 and 3 h of stimulation,
a significant number of proteins were consistently regulated in NCM. These proteins
spanned a range of functional categories that included metabolic enzymes, cytoskeletal
molecules, and proteins involved in neurotransmitter secretion and calcium binding.
Our findings suggest that auditory processing of vocal communication signals in freely
behaving songbirds triggers a cascade of protein regulatory events that are dynamically
regulated through activity-dependent changes in calcium levels.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Acoustic StimulationAnimals
Auditory Pathways
Female
Finches
Gene Expression Profiling
Learning
Nerve Tissue Proteins
Prosencephalon
Proteomics
Songbirds
Vocalization, Animal
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11262Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1111/j.1460-9568.2008.06102.xPublication Info
Pinaud, Raphael; Osorio, Cristina; Alzate, Oscar; & Jarvis, Erich D (2008). Profiling of experience-regulated proteins in the songbird auditory forebrain using
quantitative proteomics. Eur J Neurosci, 27(6). pp. 1409-1422. 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2008.06102.x. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11262.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Erich David Jarvis
Adjunct Professor in the Deptartment of Neurobiology
Dr. Jarvis' laboratory studies the neurobiology of vocal communication. Emphasis is
placed on the molecular pathways involved in the perception and production of learned
vocalizations. They use an integrative approach that combines behavioral, anatomical,
electrophysiological and molecular biological techniques. The main animal model used
is songbirds, one of the few vertebrate groups that evolved the ability to learn vocalizations.
The generality of the discoveries is tested in other vocal

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