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archive for the ‘birdsong’ tag

neuron replacement in birds’ brains

This is an amazing fact:

When breeding season begins, the tiny brains of chickadees and other songbirds enlarge to enable the birds to create more sounds. After the breeding season is over and the birds no longer need that singing function, the part of the birds’ brains that controls vocalizations decreases in size.

Studying the ability of a bird’s brain to generate new neurons in order to sing in the spring fundamentally altered how scientists think about the human brain—and opened the door for new research on understanding degenerative brain conditions, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

More info here: BirdNote.org Black-capped Chickadee

posted in brain science

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written on November 14th, 2010 at 8:17 PM by steve