Date of Award
1-1-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S. in Biological Science
First Advisor
Lainy B. Day
Second Advisor
Chris Leary
Third Advisor
Richard Buchholz
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Most studies involving sex differences in songbirds are devoted to song learning and development. However, songbirds, such as zebra finches, are excellent models for studying general roles of steroids on behavior post-brain injury because they have high degrees of adult neuroplasticity and neurosteroidogenesis. The role of estradiol (E2) in recovery of function after neural insults in mammals has been well-studied for decades. Only recently has the role of E2 and aromatase in neuroprotection been examined in songbirds, and our lab is one of the few to study the role of E2 and aromatase in behavioral recovery and the only to do so in the context of cerebellar lesions. We previously demonstrated cerebellar (CB) lesions plus aromatase inhibition slow learning of a spatial task while adding exogenous E2 ameliorates this deficit in male zebra finches. However, postural deficits post-CB lesion, are not increased by aromatase inhibition, nor improved by exogenous E2. Only males have been studied. Other labs have shown that female zebra finches upregulate local aromatase more than males at the lesion site post-CB lesion. It has been suggested that this sex difference in local upregulation by females is meant to compensate for a greater degree of substrate for aromatization, testosterone, in males systemically. If true, local inhibition of aromatase post-CB lesion could alter behavioral outcomes more for females than males without sex differences post-CB lesion only. The current set of experiments examines sex differences in spatial cognition and postural control post-cerebellar lesions with or without aromatase inhibition. Given a lack of behavioral sex differences in male and female zebra finches relevant to postural or spatial mapping, we did not expect sex differences in sham-lesioned birds. Our results did not suggest aromatase inhibition impacts males more than females but did suggest sex-specific influences of CB lesions on spatial and motor tasks and support our previous results showing that aromatase inhibition alters outcomes in cognitive performance post-CB lesion but does not increase a CB-dependent postural deficit in zebra finches. Our study suggests novel sex differences and the role of the CB in strategies for acquiring spatial information.
Recommended Citation
Thibodeaux, Mathew Joseph, "Evaluation of Male and Female Performance and the Role of Cerebellar Lesions and Local Aromatase Inhibition in Motor and Cognitive Tasks in the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia Castanotis)" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2885.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2885