Study
A brain for all seasons: cyclical anatomical changes in song control nuclei of the canary brain
Nottebohm, Fernando
Science, 1981
The volumes of the brain nuclei controlling song production were measured in male canaries at different points in the year, and related to song stability and to the birds’ hormonal state.
- Studied in
- Serinus canaria
- Sample size
- canary brains measured across the annual cycle
Song control nuclei grew substantially in spring and shrank afterwards, changing volume by a large fraction across the annual cycle in an adult brain.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
The adult songbird brain undergoes seasonal anatomical change in the circuits controlling song.
How NatureHQ reads it
This result mattered far beyond birdsong. The prevailing view was that adult vertebrate brains do not add neurons, and a bird whose song nuclei double and halve every year is difficult to reconcile with that. The subsequent demonstration of adult neurogenesis in songbirds is one of the clearest cases of a fact about an unfashionable animal overturning a general claim about brains — including, eventually, our own.
- Canaries are unusual among songbirds in re-learning song each year; seasonal change is smaller in age-limited learners.
- Volume change conflates neuron number, size and connectivity.
- Captive birds under controlled photoperiod, which exaggerates seasonal transitions.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: American Association for the Advancement of SciencePublished in Science or Science Advances (AAAS).
doi.org/10.1126/science.7313697
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref on 2026-08-11.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-09.