Approaches in the avian neurobiology: description of blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva) brain and comparison with other birds

• Grant number: 24/09285-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 13, 2024
• End date: March 12, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: José de Anchieta de Castro e Horta Júnior
• Grantee: Isadora Volpi
• Supervisor: Jesse Goldberg
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Cornell University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/18094-3 - Distribution of cholinergic and nitrergic regions in the blue-fronted parrot (Amazona aestiva) brain, BP.IC

Abstract

Parrots have brain regions homologous to those of mammals and exhibit cognitive abilities such as vocal learning, tool use and complex social interaction. However, little is known about the neurobiology of parrots in Brazil, despite the great interest these animals arouse. Cytoarchitectural studies to map the main bundles of myelinated fibers and neuron cell bodies are essential for identifying specific regions and systems. This includes the cholinergic and nitrergic systems, which are widely distributed in the avian encephalon and co-localized in some regions. These systems have many functions and are described in the vocal learning pathway in birds. The aim of this study is to describe and map the myelocytoarchitecture, cholinergic and nitrergic areas of the brain of the blue-fronted Amazon parrot (A. aestiva) and to compare methods and knowledge of A. aestiva, budgerigar and zebra finch with the assistance of specialized researchers in the avian neurobiology field at Cornell University. This internship will improve the methods and results of the current scientific project and future ones. Three Amazona aestiva individuals from the brain bank of the Neuromorphology Laboratory were used (CEUA, Protocol 132/2016 and 0168/2021; SISBIO n° 6453531 and nº 78416-1). Histological sections from each animal were processed using NADPH-d, AChE and Klüver-Barrera histochemical protocols. The identification of regions of interest, such as the nuclei related to vocal learning will be described based on work with phylogenetically similar birds, mostly with the budgerigar, a psittacine studied in Cornell. The study will provide the first description of nitric oxide and acetylcholine in the brain of the blue-fronted Amazon parrot, being one of the first studies of psittacine neurobiology in Brazil.