ArticleBMC biology2013
The songbird syrinx morphome: a three-dimensional, high-resolution, interactive morphological map of the zebra finch vocal organ.
Article in BMC biology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers.
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45 citing papers in PubMed.
- Syrinx anatomy and vocalizations in New World vultures (Aves: Cathartidae): Implications for avian vocal evolution.Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- Courtship vocalizations in male ducks: spectral composition and resonance of the syringeal bulla.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Transitions and tricks: nonlinear phenomena in the avian voice.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Review
- The lungs of the finch: three-dimensional pulmonary anatomy of the zebra finch (Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Article
- A synchrotron X-ray CT-based 3D atlas of the songbird syrinx with single muscle fibre resolution implies fine motor control of syringeal vocal folds.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Global analysis of acoustic frequency characteristics in birds.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Evolution of the syrinx of Apodiformes, including the vocal-learning Trochilidae (Aves: Strisores).Zoological journal of the Linnean Society · 2024Article
- Gekko gecko as a model organism for understanding aspects of laryngeal vocal evolution.The Journal of experimental biology · 2024Article
- A histological and diceCT-derived 3D reconstruction of the avian visual thalamofugal pathway.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Daily vocal exercise is necessary for peak performance singing in a songbird.Nature communications · 2023Article
- A flexible carbon nanotube electrode array for acute in vivo EMG recordings.Journal of neurophysiology · 2023Article
- Phylogenetic signal in the vocalizations of vocal learning and vocal non-learning birds.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- One-to-one innervation of vocal muscles allows precise control of birdsong.Current biology : CB · 2021Article
- Syringeal vocal folds do not have a voice in zebra finch vocal development.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Assaying three-dimensional cellular architecture using X-ray tomographic and correlated imaging approaches.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2020Review
- The vocal organ of hummingbirds shows convergence with songbirds.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Vocal tract anatomy of king penguins: morphological traits of two-voiced sound production.Frontiers in zoology · 2020Article
- The phylogenetic significance of the morphology of the syrinx, hyoid and larynx, of the southern cassowary, Casuarius casuarius (Aves, Palaeognathae).BMC evolutionary biology · 2019Article
- Article
- 3D Muscle Architecture of the Pectoral Muscles of European Starling (Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England) · 2019Article
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8 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLike human infants, songbirds learn their species-specific vocalizations through imitation learning. The birdsong system has emerged as a widely used experimental animal model for understanding the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for vocal production learning. However, how neural impulses are translated into the precise motor behavior of the complex vocal organ (syrinx) to create song is poorly understood. First and foremost, we lack a detailed understanding of syringeal morphology.
resultsTo fill this gap we combined non-invasive (high-field magnetic resonance imaging and micro-computed tomography) and invasive techniques (histology and micro-dissection) to construct the annotated high-resolution three-dimensional dataset, or morphome, of the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) syrinx. We identified and annotated syringeal cartilage, bone and musculature in situ in unprecedented detail. We provide interactive three-dimensional models that greatly improve the communication of complex morphological data and our understanding of syringeal function in general.
conclusionsOur results show that the syringeal skeleton is optimized for low weight driven by physiological constraints on song production. The present refinement of muscle organization and identity elucidates how apposed muscles actuate different syringeal elements. Our dataset allows for more precise predictions about muscle co-activation and synergies and has important implications for muscle activity and stimulation experiments. We also demonstrate how the syrinx can be stabilized during song to reduce mechanical noise and, as such, enhance repetitive execution of stereotypic motor patterns. In addition, we identify a cartilaginous structure suited to play a crucial role in the uncoupling of sound frequency and amplitude control, which permits a novel explanation of the evolutionary success of songbirds.
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