Inhibition of miR-128 Enhances Vocal Sequence Organization in Juvenile Songbirds.

ABSTRACT: The molecular mechanisms underlying learned vocal communication are not well characterized. This is a major barrier for developing treatments for conditions affecting social communication, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our group previously generated an activity-dependent gene expression network in the striatopallidal song control nucleus, Area X, in adult zebra finches to identify master regulators of learned vocal behavior. This dataset revealed that the two host genes for microRNA-128, ARPP21 and R3HDM1, are among the top genes whose expression correlates to how much birds sing. Here we examined whether miR-128 itself is behaviorally regulated in Area X and found that its levels decline with singing. We hypothesized that reducing miR-128 during the critical period for vocal pla

SUBMITTER: Aamodt CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8914539 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature