Hemispheric specialization in the primary auditory area of awake and anesthetized starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).
Although evidence exists for a lateralization of song production, few studies have focused on the perceptual aspect of lateralization in songbirds. In the present study, the authors recorded neuronal responses to a variety of species-specific and artificial, nonspecific stimuli in both hemispheres of awake and anesthetized male starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). Recordings were made in the primary auditory area of the songbird brain, the Field L complex. The right hemisphere exhibited significantly more responsive units than the left hemisphere in awake birds, and this difference was significantly reduced in anesthetized birds. Furthermore, clear hemispheric specialization toward categories of behaviorally relevant stimuli and precise parameters of these stimuli were found. The main auditory area of the starling's brain thus appears to show some degree of lateralization.
George
Isabella
I
Unite Mixte de Recherche 6552, Ethologie-Evolution-Ecologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Universitee Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, Bâtiment 25, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France. igeorge@netcourrier.com
Vernier
Baptiste
B
Richard
Jean-Pierre
JP
Hausberger
Martine
M
Cousillas
Hugo
H
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000758:Anesthesia; D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D008297:Male; D008959:Models, Neurological; D020308:Songbirds; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013045:Species Specificity; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology*