Biology subjects

Cini, F. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Cini, F. A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Parental state dynamically reshapes auditory processing of offspring vocalizations in zebra finches

Parental care is critical for offspring survival. For many species, including humans, auditory cues unique to dependent offspring, such as baby cries, elicit the necessary behavior from parents to care for young. Despite this, we know little about how the brain encodes auditory cues specific to offspring. Zebra finches are an excellent model to study this. Zebra finches are biparental, meaning both male and female parents raise the young and rely on auditory cues (begging calls) to elicit chick feeding responses (parental behavior). Begging calls also become individually identifiable by the parents, necessitating higher-order learning/ association neural processes. It is well established that the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), a higher-order region of secondary pallial cortex (analogous to the mammalian secondary auditory cortex), is involved in the perception of complex auditory signals in birds. It is unknown, however, if/how NCM responds to offspring begging calls. To begin testing this, we used high density silicon probes to record single-unit in vivo electrophysiology activity in the NCM of adult parenting and non-parenting zebra finches exposed to playbacks of their own chicks begging calls (parents only), novel age-matched begging calls (parents and non-parents), as well as novel adult male song and pure tone controls. Our results show that NCM neurons in parents respond more strongly (i.e., higher evoked firing rates) to both their own and novel chick begging calls and have higher baseline (spontaneous) firing rates in narrow spiking units relative to non-parents. Furthermore, NCM neurons in parenting females tend to show more selective responses towards their own chick begging calls, whereas those in males do not show similar levels of selectivity. These studies lay essential groundwork for future studies on how auditory responses can elicit parental behavior and how these responses may change over the chick-rearing period.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Organization, Neuronal Composition, and Dynamics of Neuronal Ensembles in the Songbird Auditory Forebrain

Auditory learning is a key component of vocal learning and communication. Neurons involved in auditory learning are typically examined as single encoders, but there is increasing evidence that the coincident activity of groups of neurons, or ensembles, is important for the processing and transmission of sensory information. In songbirds, a forebrain region analogous to mammalian secondary auditory cortex, the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), is crucial for representing and learning auditory signals. In the awake state, NCM neurons exhibit stimulus-specific adaptation in response to repeated presentation of song stimuli, considered a form of auditory working memory. Yet, how complex stimuli like song are encoded by networks of excitatory and inhibitory neurons is essentially unknown. Using in-vivo single-unit electrophysiology, we systematically unveiled neuronal ensembles that operate at high temporal precision (< 10 ms) across the NCM of awake zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Our data show that multiple ensembles are concurrently activated by song with high temporal precision, and that their neuronal composition is heterogeneous, topographically proximate, and biased towards excitatory members. NCM ensembles adapt to song playback and, notably, become more stimulus selective over tens of minutes, accompanied by fast remodeling (membership gain and/or loss) during adaptation. Altogether, our results suggest that song representations in the forebrain can be conveyed by multiple, dynamic network ensembles in parallel. These findings advance our knowledge of the composition, dynamics, and neuronal network reorganization of ensembles as complex sensory stimuli become increasingly familiar.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

d-Lysergic acid diethylamide has major potential as a cognitive enhancer

Psychedelic agonists of serotonin receptors induce neural plasticity and synaptogenesis, but their potential to enhance learning remains uncharted. Here we show that a single dose of d-LSD, a potent serotonergic agonist, increased novel object preference in young and adult rats several days after treatment. d-LSD alone did not increase preference in old animals, but could rescue it to young levels when followed by a 6-day exposure to enriched environment (EE). Mass spectrometry-based proteomics in human brain organoids treated with d-LSD showed upregulation of proteins from the presynaptic active zone. A computational model of synaptic connectivity in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex suggests that d-LSD enhances novelty preference by combining local synaptic changes in mnemonic and executive regions, with alterations of long-range synapses. Better pattern separation within EE explained its synergy with d-LSD in rescuing novelty preference in old animals. These results advance the use of d-LSD in cognitive enhancement.

neuroscience↗