Fear of Predators Suppresses Neurogenesis in the Brains of Wild Songbirds.

ABSTRACT: Fear of predation can lead to behavioral changes indicative of an enduring memory of fear, as acknowledged by both ecologists and biomedical scientists studying post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Enduring memories are often linked to suppressed neurogenesis in laboratory rodents as a potential mechanism to prevent the replacement of existing memories. We used predator vocalizations to assess the enduring effects of fear on neurogenesis in a wild songbird, black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus), quantifying cell proliferation (PCNA immunoreactivity), and immature neurons (doublecortin immunoreactivity) in both sexes. Seven days after predator cue exposure, we found suppression of hippocampal cell proliferation in males, with no effect in females, and suppression of immatu

SUBMITTER: Witterick LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12574329 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature