Project description:Newly-hatched domestic chick serves as an important model for studies of neural and behavioral plasticity, particularly with respect to learning and memory such as filial imprinting. Imprinting is assumed to be a unique case of recognition learning with some characteristic features, such as sensitive period and irreversibility. However, the molecules involved in the memory process are yet to be fully identified. To address this issue, we attempted to identify the genes differentially expressed at an earlier phase of filial imprinting than described in our previous report (Brain Res. Bull.76, 275-281 (2008)). One-day-old chicks were trained for imprinting for 1 h and whole brains were collected and used for cDNA microarray analysis and quantitative RT-PCR. We identified 18 genes upregulated accompanying filial imprinting. These results suggested that the increase of these 18 genes associated with filial imprinting might play an important role in the acquisition of memory in the filial imprinting. Total RNA was extracted from whole brains of trained chicks (n=16) and control dark-reared chicks (n=16). Using these total RNAs, we performed RT-PCR to distinguish male chicks from females. Then total RNAs were separated and mixed in four groups (1, male trained (n=8); 2, female trained (n=8); 3, male dark-reared (n=8); and 4, female dark-reared chicks (n=8)), and we performed cDNA microarray expression analysis to identify the upregulated genes following imprinting (1 versus 3 and 2 versus 4).
Project description:Newly-hatched domestic chick serves as an important model for studies of neural and behavioral plasticity, particularly with respect to learning and memory such as filial imprinting. Imprinting is assumed to be a unique case of recognition learning with some characteristic features, such as sensitive period and irreversibility. However, the molecules involved in the memory process are yet to be fully identified. To address this issue, we attempted to identify the genes differentially expressed at an earlier phase of filial imprinting than described in our previous report (Brain Res. Bull.76, 275-281 (2008)). One-day-old chicks were trained for imprinting for 1 h and whole brains were collected and used for cDNA microarray analysis and quantitative RT-PCR. We identified 18 genes upregulated accompanying filial imprinting. These results suggested that the increase of these 18 genes associated with filial imprinting might play an important role in the acquisition of memory in the filial imprinting.
Project description:We performed aCGH analysis among domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) with different sensitivity in the tonic immobility (TI) to identify the copy number aberrants within genes or regions responsible for innate fear responses.
Project description:We performed aCGH analysis among domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) with different sensitivity in the tonic immobility (TI) to identify the copy number aberrants within genes or regions responsible for innate fear responses. Four samples (high fear) were compared with a reference sample (low fear)
