Expression of reelin, its receptors and its intracellular signaling protein, Disabled1 in the canary brain: relationships with the song control system.

ABSTRACT: Songbirds produce learned vocalizations that are controlled by a specialized network of neural structures, the song control system. Several nuclei in this song control system demonstrate a marked degree of adult seasonal plasticity. Nucleus volume varies seasonally based on changes in cell size or spacing, and in the case of nucleus HVC and area X on the incorporation of new neurons. Reelin, a large glycoprotein defective in reeler mice, is assumed to determine the final location of migrating neurons in the developing brain. In mammals, reelin is also expressed in the adult brain but its functions are less well characterized. We investigated the relationships between the expression of reelin and/or its receptors and the dramatic seasonal plasticity in the canary (Serinus canaria) brain. We

SUBMITTER: Balthazart J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2836269 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature