Scientists Study Songbird Brain Synapses to Learn About the Hormone Estrogen

American University biology professor Colin Saldanha — along with colleagues from the University of Massachussetts, Amherst, and the University of California, Los Angeles — recently published research that introduced a new method of estrogen synthesis to the scientific community: synaptocrine signaling, or at the synapse.

Saldanha has always been intrigued by the hormone estrogen — in particular, how a hormone that promotes sexual behavior in women, but also can increase susceptibility to seizures, does not cause major cross-circuit meltdowns. As such, he has been studying the brains of songbirds — specifically, adult male zebra finches — for answers. Male zebra finches sing, but female zebra finches do not. During the spring mating season, when males court prospective mates with their songs, parts of the male birds’ brains nearly double in size, only to shrink back to normal come fall. Estrogen is behind the phenomenon. For more information, click here to read the full release.