NERVE GROWTH-FACTOR EFFECTS ON THE SONG CONTROL-SYSTEM OF ZEBRA FINCHES

The aim of this experiment was to test whether or not nerve growth fac tor (NGF) is involved in cholinergic processes in the avian brain, by injecting NGF into the higher vocal center (HVC) and examining its eff ects on adult male zebra finch song. Since NGF has been hypothesized t o protect cells after injury, some birds received both NGF and iboteni c acid (IBO) lesions of HVC, while others received either NGF or IBO o r neither (SHAM). Only the IBO-treated birds showed alterations in son g. Although there was no evidence of cell preservation in the immunocy tochemical and morphological analysis NGF appears to prevent the IBO i nduced impairment in song augmenting the activity of the remaining neu rons and enhancing brain repair. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd .