Molecular microcircuitry underlies functional specification in a basal ganglia circuit dedicated to vocal learning.

ABSTRACT: Similarities between speech and birdsong make songbirds advantageous for investigating the neurogenetics of learned vocal communication--a complex phenotype probably supported by ensembles of interacting genes in cortico-basal ganglia pathways of both species. To date, only FoxP2 has been identified as critical to both speech and birdsong. We performed weighted gene coexpression network analysis on microarray data from singing zebra finches to discover gene ensembles regulated during vocal behavior. We found ∼2,000 singing-regulated genes comprising three coexpression groups unique to area X, the basal ganglia subregion dedicated to learned vocalizations. These contained known targets of human FOXP2 and potential avian targets. We validated biological pathways not previously implicated in

SUBMITTER: Hilliard AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3278710 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature