title: Convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds.
abstract: Song-learning birds and humans share independently evolved similarities in brain pathways for vocal learning that are essential for song and speech and are not found in most other species. Comparisons of brain transcriptomes of song-learning birds and humans relative to vocal nonlearners identified convergent gene expression specializations in specific song and speech brain regions of avian vocal learners and humans. The strongest shared profiles relate bird motor and striatal song-learning nuclei, respectively, with human laryngeal motor cortex and parts of the striatum that control speech production and learning. Most of the associated genes function in motor control and brain connectivity. Thus, convergent behavior and neural connectivity for a complex trait are associated with convergent specialized expression of multiple genes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. apfenning@csail.mit.edu amink@cs.duke.edu jarvis@neuro.duke.edu.
authors.forename: Andreas R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Pfenning
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Erina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Osceola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Whitney
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Miriam V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Rivas
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Petra L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Roulhac
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Jason T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
authors.forename: Morgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wirthlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
authors.forename: Peter V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Lovell
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Ganeshkumar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ganapathy
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Jacquelyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mouncastle
authors.affiliation: Duke Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility, Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: M Arthur
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Moseley
authors.affiliation: Duke Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility, Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: J Will
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Duke Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility, Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Erik J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Soderblom
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Symbolic Cognitive Development, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iriki
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Symbolic Cognitive Development, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.affiliation: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark. Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia 6102, Australia.
authors.forename: M Thomas P
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.affiliation: China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China. Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Guojie
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98103, USA.
authors.forename: Trygve
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bakken
authors.affiliation: Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98103, USA.
authors.forename: Angie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bongaarts
authors.affiliation: Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98103, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bernard
authors.affiliation: Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98103, USA.
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lein
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
authors.forename: Claudio V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Mello
authors.affiliation: Department of Computer Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. apfenning@csail.mit.edu amink@cs.duke.edu jarvis@neuro.duke.edu.
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hartemink
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. apfenning@csail.mit.edu amink@cs.duke.edu jarvis@neuro.duke.edu.
authors.forename: Erich D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Jarvis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D046369:Finches / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways; D013045:Species Specificity; D013060:Speech; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D059467:Transcriptome; D014828:Vocalization, Animal