| CAROLYN PYTTE
| Title |
Assistant Professor |
 |
| Area |
Behavioral Neuroscience |
| Ph.D. |
Indiana University, 1999 |
| Office |
368 Razran |
| E-mail |
carolyn.pytte@qc.cuny.edu |
| Office Phone |
718-997-4528 |
| Lab Phone |
718-997-3464 |
| Website |
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Professional Activities:
Society Memberships:
The Society for Neuroscience
Sigma Xi
International Society for Neuroethology
External grant reviewer for NSF
Manuscript reviewer for:
Behaviour
The Auk
Journal of Biosciences
Animal Behaviour
Research Description:
My lab is interested in the function and regulation of new neurons born in the post-embryonic brain, particularly in adulthood. Although we have known about adult neurogenesis for decades, the relationship between new neurons and behavior remains unclear. To study this brain-behavior relationship, we are focusing on new neurons that are incorporated into the motor pathway underlying the production of learned song motor patterns in songbirds.
New neurons are born in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles and migrate throughout the telencephalon where they become incorporated into existing networks. One region that incorporates new neurons is the nucleus HVC, which is a component of the song motor pathway and is one of our regions of interest. After new neurons reach HVC, many die within their first month of cell life. After this initial culling period, these young HVC neurons can live for many months before being replaced. One question we are interested in is whether behavioral factors may influence the survival of new neurons.
Selected Publications:
Suthers, R.A., F. Goller, and C.L. Pytte. 1999. The neuromuscular control of birdsong. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London. B 354:927-939.
Pytte, C.L., and R.A. Suthers. 1999. A bird’s own song contributes to conspecific song perception. NeuroReport 10:1773-1778.
Pytte, C.L., and R.A. Suthers. 2000. A Sensitive period for sensorimotor integration during vocal motor learning. Journal of Neurobiology 42:172-189.
Wang, N., P. Hurley, C.L. Pytte, and J.R. Kirn. 2002. Vocal control neuron incorporation decreases with age in the adult zebra finch. Journal of Neuroscience 22:10864-70.
Landers, M., C.L. Pytte, and H.P. Zeigler. 2002. Technical Note: Reversible blockade of rodent whisking: Botulinum toxin as a tool for developmental studies. Somatosensory and Motor Research 19:358-363.
Pytte, C.L., K. Rusch, and M.S. Ficken. 2003. Regulation of vocal amplitude in the blue-throated hummingbird (Lampornis clemenciae). Animal Behaviour 66:703-710.
Pytte, C.L., M.S. Ficken, A. Moiseff. 2004. Ultrasonic singing in the blue-throated hummingbird: A comparison of production and perception. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 190:665-73.
Deregnaucourt, S., Mitra, P.P, Feher, O., Pytte, C., Tchernichovski, O. 2005. How sleep affects the developmental learning of bird song. Nature 433:710-716.
Phan, M.L., Pytte, C.L., Vicario, D.S. 2006. Early auditory experience generates long lasting memories that may subserve vocal learning in songbirds. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 103:1088-93.
Pytte, C.L., M. Gerson, and J. R. Kirn. 2007. Increasing stereotypy in adult zebra finch song correlates with a declining rate of adult neurogenesis. Dev Neurobiol. 67:1699-1720.
Hurley, P., C.L. Pytte, and J.R. Kirn. 2008. Nest of origin predicts adult neuron addition rates in the vocal control system of the zebra finch. Brain, Behavior, and Evolution 71:263270.
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