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Captivity reduces hippocampal volume but not survival of new cells in a food‐storing bird
Author(s) -
Tarr Bernard A.,
Rabinowitz Jeremy S.,
Imtiaz Mubdiul Ali,
DeVoogd Timothy J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
developmental neurobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.716
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1932-846X
pISSN - 1932-8451
DOI - 10.1002/dneu.20736
Subject(s) - biology , captivity , hippocampal formation , neuroscience , zoology , brain size , volume (thermodynamics) , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , physics , quantum mechanics
In many naturalistic studies of the hippocampus wild animals are held in captivity. To test if captivity itself affects hippocampal integrity, adult black‐capped chickadees ( Poecile atricapilla ) were caught in the fall, injected with bromodeoxyuridine to mark neurogenesis, and alternately released to the wild or held in captivity. The wild birds were recaptured after 4–6 weeks and perfused simultaneously with their captive counterparts. The hippocampus of captive birds was 23% smaller than wild birds, with no hemispheric differences in volume within groups. Between groups there was no statistically significant difference in the size of the telencephalon, or in the number and density of surviving new cells. Proximate causes of the reduced hippocampal volume could include stress, lack of exercise, diminished social interaction, or limited caching opportunity—a hippocampal‐dependent activity. The results suggest the avian hippocampus—a structure essential for rapid, complex relational and spatial learning—is both plastic and sensitive, much as in mammals, including humans. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2009