Publication
Title
Neuroplasticity in the cerebello-thalamo-basal ganglia pathway : a longitudinal in vivo MRI study in male songbirds
Author
Abstract
Similar to human speech, bird song is controlled by several pathways including a cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical (C-BG-T-C) loop. Neurotoxic disengagement of the basal ganglia component, i.e. Area X, induces long-term changes in song performance, while most of the lesioned area regenerates within the first months. Importantly however, the timing and spatial extent of structural neuroplastic events potentially affecting other constituents of the C-BG-T-C loop is not clear. We designed a longitudinal MRI study where changes in brain structure were evaluated relative to the time after neurotoxic lesioning or to vocal performance. By acquiring both Diffusion Tensor Imaging and 3-dimensional anatomical scans, we were able to track alterations in respectively intrinsic tissue properties and local volume. Voxel-based statistical analyses revealed structural remodeling remote to the lesion, i.e. in the thalamus and, surprisingly, the cerebellum, both peaking within the first two months after lesioning Area X. Voxel-wise correlations between song performance and MRI parameters uncovered intriguing brain-behavior relationships in several brain areas pertaining to the C-BG-T-C loop supervising vocal motor control. Our results clearly point to structural neuroplasticity in the cerebellum induced by basal ganglia (striatal) damage and might point to the existence of a human-like cerebello-thalamic-basal ganglia pathway capable of modifying vocal motor output.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Neuroimage. - New York
Publication
New York : 2018
ISSN
1053-8119
Volume/pages
181 (2018) , p. 190-202
ISI
000445165600017
Pubmed ID
29981906
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Unraveling the interaction between testosterone and thyroid hormones and their impact on seasonal changes in the songbird brain. ua_27532
Learning and brain plasticity: a three levels approach. ua_25105
Resolution improvement of diffusion MRI images through model based and numeric-symbolic reconstruction. ua_27599
Hormones and neuroplasticity: image guided discoveries of molecular mechanisms in neuroplasticity (PLASTOSCINE). ua_27926
Integrated cerebral networks for perception, cognition and action in human and non-human primates (CEREBNET). ua_27922
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 14.08.2018
Last edited 15.11.2022
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