Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Biology

Advisor

Osceola Whitney

Committee Members

Andreas Kottmann

Karen Hubbard

Julio Gallego-Delgado

Bianca Jones Marlin

Subject Categories

Behavioral Neurobiology | Biology | Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience | Systems Neuroscience

Keywords

songbird, zebra finch, social behavior, oxytocin

Abstract

Adapting behaviors to the perceived external environment is key to the success and survival of individuals in social species. This context-sensitive modulation of behavior is critical for informative interactions with conspecifics, like alerting a neighbor to a nearing predator or capturing the attention of a potential mate. For the adult male zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), a vocal-learning songbird, context-sensitive adaptions to a learned song are key for developing and maintaining pair-bonds with females who are extremely attentive to subtle modulations of song structure. In this thesis, I explore the hypothesis that the influence of a social behavior network on a vocal control network in the songbird brain is mediated by two social hormones, oxytocin and dopamine, facilitating context-sensitive alterations to song. I put studies of similar behaviors across taxa in conversation with each other, proposing a conserved neural pathway for socially influenced behavioral flexibility. I demonstrate that activity across nodes of the social behavior network is correlated with singing in different social states, in other words that this social network and the vocal control network are functionally connected. I describe novel, direct anatomical connections from two hypothalamic nodes in the social behavior network to the vocal control network. I show that antagonizing activity of the oxytocin receptor across the brain disrupts expected context-appropriate modifications to female-directed song as well as correlated activity across the social behavior network. Finally, through an external collaboration, I aided in the compilation of the first ever songbird anatomical connectome, a publicly available resource that visualizes all reported anatomical connections in the songbird brain. In summary, this thesis investigates the neural mechanisms of context-sensitive behavior, from a bird’s eye view. This work defines a framework for investigating the integration of brain networks that have previously been described in isolation.

Download

Share

COinS