These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: An atlas of aromatase mRNA expression in the zebra finch brain.
    Author: Shen P, Schlinger BA, Campagnoni AT, Arnold AP.
    Journal: J Comp Neurol; 1995 Sep 11; 360(1):172-84. PubMed ID: 7499563.
    Abstract:
    Neural conversion of androgen to estrogen by aromatase is an important step in the development and expression of masculine behavior in mammals and birds. In contrast to the low telencephalic levels of aromatase in adult mammals and nonsongbirds, the zebra finch telencephalon possesses high aromatase activity. This study maps, by in situ hybridization, cells that express aromatase mRNA in the adult zebra finch telencephalon, diencephalon, midbrain, and pons. High aromatase mRNA expression was observed in the caudal neostriatum, limbic archistriatum, and hypothalamus. The hippocampus, parahippocampal area, and hyperstriatum accessorium contained cells expressing moderate amounts of aromatase message. Weakly labeled cells were found in the rostral neostriatum, lobus parolfactorius, and mesencephalic reticular formation. These findings are consistent with aromatase activity measurements of zebra finch tissue and document with anatomical precision both the widespread expression of aromatase mRNA in the brain and novel sites of brain aromatase. This study identifies the caudal neostriatum as a major site of telencephalic aromatase. A previous survey (Gahr et al., 1993: J. Comp. Neurol. 327:112-122) of several avian species found that the presence of estrogen receptors in parts of the caudal neostriatum is unique to songbirds, which are the only birds to possess the elaborated telencephalic song system. Together, these findings suggest that the heightened estrogen synthesis and estrogen sensitivity of the passerine caudal neostriatum may have some functional relation with the telencephalic circuits responsible for song.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]