title: Induction of Zenk protein expression within the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala of pigeons following tone and shock stimulation.
abstract: In this study, we evaluated the expression of the Zenk protein within the nucleus taeniae of the pigeon's amygdala (TnA) after training in a classical aversive conditioning, in order to improve our understanding of its functional role in birds. Thirty-two 18-month-old adult male pigeons (Columba livia), weighing on average 350 g, were trained under different conditions: with tone-shock associations (experimental group; EG); with shock-alone presentations (shock group; SG); with tone-alone presentations (tone group; TG); with exposure to the training chamber without stimulation (context group; CG), and with daily handling (naive group; NG). The number of immunoreactive nuclei was counted in the whole TnA region and is reported as density of Zenk-positive nuclei. This density of Zenk-positive cells in the TnA was significantly greater for the EG, SG and TG than for the CG and NG (P < 0.05). The data indicate an expression of Zenk in the TnA that was driven by experience, supporting the role of this brain area as a critical element for neural processing of aversive stimuli as well as meaningful novel stimuli.
authors: Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, Brasil. ivana_brito@yahoo.com.br
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Brito
authors: L R G
authors: LR
authors: Britto
authors: E A M
authors: EA
authors: Ferrari