Highlights•Dopamine has dual functions in songbirds, modulating song learning and
performance.•Singing-related VTA dopamine neuron activity resembles prediction error …

Parvalbumin (PV) neurons play an integral role in regulating neural dynamics and plasticity.
Therefore, understanding the factors that regulate PV expression is important for revealing …

Vocal learning species must form and extensively hone associations between sounds and
social contingencies. In songbirds, dopamine signaling guides song motor production …

Variation in the acoustic structure of vocal signals is important to communicate social
information. However, relatively little is known about the features that receivers extract to …

Estrogens support major brain functions including cognition, reproduction, neuroprotection
and sensory processing. Neuroestrogens are synthesized within some brain areas by the …

The transcription factor FOXP2 is crucial for the formation and function of cortico-striatal
circuits. FOXP2 mutations are associated with specific speech and language impairments. In …

Distinguishing between familiar and unfamiliar individuals is an important task that shapes
the expression of social behavior. As such, identifying the neural populations involved in …

The number of parvalbumin neurons can be modified by social, multisensory, and cognitive
stimuli in both mammals and birds, but nothing is known about their plasticity in long …

Although the interplay between endogenous opioids and dopamine (DA) in the basal
ganglia (BG) is known to underlie diverse motor functions, few studies exist on their role in …

Mutations in the gene, alpha-synuclein (α-syn), are common to inherited and sporadic cases
of Parkinson's disease (PD). Abnormal accumulation of α-syn at synapses in the brain …