Effects of nicotine administration on spectral and temporal features of crystallized song in the adult male zebra finch.

Introduction: The process through which the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) acquires and produces crystallized song has long been thought of as highly analogous to the process through which humans acquire and produce speech. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are present in song nuclei that play important roles in song production and/or acquisition. We studied the effect of in vivo nicotine on temporal and spectral features of crystallized song.

Nicotine kinetics in zebra finches in vivo and in vitro.

Nicotine enhances cognitive performance, and in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), which is a well-established model of cognition, the effects of nicotine on song production have been reported. Nicotine and cotinine plasma levels were assessed in vivo after subcutaneous injection of 0.18 mg/kg nicotine, a dose that elicits changes in song production.

Automatic data analysis of real-time song and locomotor activity in zebra finches.

The zebra finch is a superb natural animal model to study cognition and as such could contribute to the further understanding of nicotinic intervention therapies for patients suffering from cognitive impairment as observed in neurodegenerative disorders. Manual analysis of data produced by this model is extremely labour intensive, error-prone, and typically takes weeks to complete. We designed data acquisition methods, selected analysis algorithms, and developed software to efficiently and accurately automate the detection and classification of song production (cognitive functioning) and locomotor activity (physical condition).

In vivo nicotine exposure in the zebra finch: a promising innovative animal model to use in neurodegenerative disorders related research.

Nicotine improves cognitive enhancement and there are indications that neurodegenerative (age-related) cognitive disorders could be treated with nicotine-based drugs. The zebra finch is a well-recognized model to study cognitive functioning; hence this model could be used to study the effects of nicotine in neurodegenerative cognitive disorders. However, nicotine's in vivo physiological and behavioral effects have never been studied in the zebra finch.

Inhibitors of carbohydrate metabolism reduce undirected song production at doses that do not alter food intake in singly housed male zebra finches.

Previous findings in our laboratory indicate that food availability and/or the balance of metabolic fuels may play a role in the production of undirected song in singly housed adult male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). In this study, 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) or 2,5-anhydro-d-mannitol (2,5-AM) were used to attenuate the circadian shift from lipid to carbohydrate metabolism, which normally occurs at the onset of the light phase in free-feeding, singly housed zebra finches, in order to evaluate the possibility that carbohydrate metabolism influences the production of undirected song. Food intake was also measured.