Convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds

Song-learning birds and humans share independently evolved similarities in brain pathways for vocal learning that are essential for song and speech and are not found in most other species. Comparisons of brain transcriptomes of song-learning birds and humans relative to vocal nonlearners identified...

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Main Authors: Pfenning, A., Hara, E., Whitney, O., Rivas, M., Wang, R., Roulhac, P., Howard, J., Wirthlin, M., Lovell, P., Ganapathy, G., Mouncastle, J., Moseley, M.A., Thompson, J W., Soderblom, E.j, Iriki, A., Kato, M., Gilbert, Thomas, Zhang, G., Bakken, T., Bongaarts, A., Bernard, A., Lein, E., Mello, C., Hartemink, A., Jarvis, E.
Format: Journal Article
Published: The American Association for the Advancement of Science 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45716
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author Pfenning, A.
Hara, E.
Whitney, O.
Rivas, M.
Wang, R.
Roulhac, P.
Howard, J.
Wirthlin, M.
Lovell, P.
Ganapathy, G.
Mouncastle, J.
Moseley, M.A.
Thompson, J W.
Soderblom, E.j
Iriki, A.
Kato, M.
Gilbert, Thomas
Zhang, G.
Bakken, T.
Bongaarts, A.
Bernard, A.
Lein, E.
Mello, C.
Hartemink, A.
Jarvis, E.
author_facet Pfenning, A.
Hara, E.
Whitney, O.
Rivas, M.
Wang, R.
Roulhac, P.
Howard, J.
Wirthlin, M.
Lovell, P.
Ganapathy, G.
Mouncastle, J.
Moseley, M.A.
Thompson, J W.
Soderblom, E.j
Iriki, A.
Kato, M.
Gilbert, Thomas
Zhang, G.
Bakken, T.
Bongaarts, A.
Bernard, A.
Lein, E.
Mello, C.
Hartemink, A.
Jarvis, E.
author_sort Pfenning, A.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Song-learning birds and humans share independently evolved similarities in brain pathways for vocal learning that are essential for song and speech and are not found in most other species. Comparisons of brain transcriptomes of song-learning birds and humans relative to vocal nonlearners identified convergent gene expression specializations in specific song and speech brain regions of avian vocal learners and humans. The strongest shared profiles relate bird motor and striatal song-learning nuclei, respectively, with human laryngeal motor cortex and parts of the striatum that control speech production and learning. Most of the associated genes function in motor control and brain connectivity. Thus, convergent behavior and neural connectivity for a complex trait are associated with convergent specialized expression of multiple genes.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:26:53Z
format Journal Article
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:26:53Z
publishDate 2014
publisher The American Association for the Advancement of Science
recordtype eprints
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-457162023-02-22T06:24:23Z Convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds Pfenning, A. Hara, E. Whitney, O. Rivas, M. Wang, R. Roulhac, P. Howard, J. Wirthlin, M. Lovell, P. Ganapathy, G. Mouncastle, J. Moseley, M.A. Thompson, J W. Soderblom, E.j Iriki, A. Kato, M. Gilbert, Thomas Zhang, G. Bakken, T. Bongaarts, A. Bernard, A. Lein, E. Mello, C. Hartemink, A. Jarvis, E. Song-learning birds and humans share independently evolved similarities in brain pathways for vocal learning that are essential for song and speech and are not found in most other species. Comparisons of brain transcriptomes of song-learning birds and humans relative to vocal nonlearners identified convergent gene expression specializations in specific song and speech brain regions of avian vocal learners and humans. The strongest shared profiles relate bird motor and striatal song-learning nuclei, respectively, with human laryngeal motor cortex and parts of the striatum that control speech production and learning. Most of the associated genes function in motor control and brain connectivity. Thus, convergent behavior and neural connectivity for a complex trait are associated with convergent specialized expression of multiple genes. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45716 10.1126/science.1256846 The American Association for the Advancement of Science unknown
spellingShingle Pfenning, A.
Hara, E.
Whitney, O.
Rivas, M.
Wang, R.
Roulhac, P.
Howard, J.
Wirthlin, M.
Lovell, P.
Ganapathy, G.
Mouncastle, J.
Moseley, M.A.
Thompson, J W.
Soderblom, E.j
Iriki, A.
Kato, M.
Gilbert, Thomas
Zhang, G.
Bakken, T.
Bongaarts, A.
Bernard, A.
Lein, E.
Mello, C.
Hartemink, A.
Jarvis, E.
Convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds
title Convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds
title_full Convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds
title_fullStr Convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds
title_full_unstemmed Convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds
title_short Convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds
title_sort convergent transcriptional specializations in the brains of humans and song-learning birds
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45716