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Site-specific retinoic acid production in the brain of adult songbirds.
Abstract
The song system of songbirds, a set of brain nuclei necessary for song learning and
production, has distinctive morphological and functional properties. Utilizing differential
display, we searched for molecular components involved in song system regulation.
We identified a cDNA (zRalDH) that encodes a class 1 aldehyde dehydrogenase. zRalDH
was highly expressed in various song nuclei and synthesized retinoic acid efficiently.
Brain areas expressing zRalDH generated retinoic acid. Within song nucleus HVC, only
projection neurons not undergoing adult neurogenesis expressed zRalDH. Blocking zRalDH
activity in the HVC of juveniles interfered with normal song development. Our results
provide conclusive evidence for localized retinoic acid synthesis in an adult vertebrate
brain and indicate that the retinoic acid-generating system plays a significant role
in the maturation of a learned behavior.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Aldehyde DehydrogenaseAldehyde Oxidoreductases
Animals
Autoradiography
Base Sequence
Brain
Cells, Cultured
Cloning, Molecular
Disulfiram
Drug Implants
Gene Expression
Isoenzymes
Male
Molecular Sequence Data
Nerve Tissue Proteins
Neurons
Organ Specificity
Retinal Dehydrogenase
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
Songbirds
Substrate Specificity
Tretinoin
Vocalization, Animal
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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 lear

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