Seasonal neuroplasticity of visual and auditory system integration: an in vivo MRI study in starling.

Previous studies from our team have demonstrated that seasonal plasticity in the songbird brain extends the song control system (SCS) covering sensory systems such as the visual and the auditory system. In this project we want to investigate whether seasonal neuroplastic changes in these circuits imply also functional changes that steer behavioral differences in favor of reproduction. This would revolutionize the concept of seasonal plasticity which was until recently well described only for the SCS with a clear behavioral read out, i.e. changes in song performance.Since visual inputs, linked to mate attraction, change over the seasons, it is our objective to study seasonal changes in visual system processing. This will be done in both male and female starling using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We hypothesize that structural and functional changes in the sensory systems are specific for particular stimulus categories such as sexually relevant stimuli. To investigate this hypothesis, we will perform visual fMRI with visual reproductive relevant stimuli over the seasons.

Keywords:NEUROPLASTICITY, FUNCTIONAL-CONNECTIVITY MRI (FCMRI), SENSORY PERCEPTION, FUNCTIONAL IMAGING

Disciplines:Multimedia processing, Biological system engineering, Signal processing, Neurosciences, Biological and physiological psychology, Cognitive science and intelligent systems, Developmental psychology and ageing