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Project

The causal links between brain plasticity, motor activity and motivation: an in vivo neuro MRI study in songbirds.

The main goal of this project is to shed light on the causal relationship between steroid hormones (testosterone), brain plasticity (of the song control system and other relevant regions), motor behavior (song) and (sexual) motivation by making use of the newest possibilities offered by MR-imaging. All experiments will be conducted with the starling (Sturnus vulgaris) as model species.Three hypotheses will be tested:1. Testosterone acts directly on the song control system and is the cause of its growth and higher song production,2. Testosterone does not act directly on the song control system but on other regions in the brain who are involved in sexually motivated behavior,3. The higher (motor) activity (song) induces brain plasticity.
Date:1 Oct 2008 →  30 Sep 2010
Keywords:MRI, SONGBIRDS
Disciplines:Animal biology, Multimedia processing, Biological system engineering, Signal processing, Neurosciences, Veterinary medicine, Biological and physiological psychology, Cognitive science and intelligent systems, Developmental psychology and ageing