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Dr. Whitney uses molecular, anatomical, and behavioral techniques to investigate how and why birds sing. His current research focuses on deconstructing the neurogenetic mechanisms of social influences on vocal development, the epigenetic mechanisms relevant for cellular and behavioral memory, and the role these two mechanisms have in defining the sensitive period for learned vocal behavior.

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology, New Mexico State University, 2012
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, 2004
Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Florida State University, 2003
M.S. in Psychology, Florida A&M University, 1998
B.S. in Psychology, Lincoln University, PA 1995

Biology 20700 - Organismic Biology

Biology 46000 - Animal Behavior

Biology A6000 - Animal Behavior

Learning intricate behavioral patterns involves sensory-motor functions that are strongly shaped by social interactions. For example, sensory–motor-based learning such as language acquisition involves both social motivation and social feedback. My lab research includes a focus on how social interactions modulate sensory–motor mechanisms that promote acquisition and maintenance of complex behavior, i.e., learned vocal communication in birds. Avian taxa are among the few animal groups other than humans that have specific vocal learning abilities. Several features of the natural vocal imitation behavior of birds make them invaluable for understanding the brain mechanisms of learned behavior. For example, both birdsong and human speech involve analogous neural circuitry, syntactic organization, sensitive periods for learning, and social/cultural transmission of vocal repertoires. Humans have long admired birds for their vocal mimicry behavior, in part because vocal imitation is required for human speech and may indicate cognitive complexity. My lab currently pursues this work using zebra finch songbirds to identify some of the single gene constituents, gene regulatory networks, and epigenetic modifications that are associated with the maturation and maintenance of the songbird neural system for vocal-motor-control. We use an integrative approach that combines behavioral, anatomical, molecular, and bioinformatic techniques. Our work is relevant for understanding how neurological conditions such as autism may interfere with learned behavior and understanding how brain mechanisms evolved to shape complex behavior.

Selected Publications

Whitney O, et al. . Dev Neurobiol. 2015 75(7):778-90. doi: 10.1002/dneu.22247. PMID: 25407828 

Hara E, et al. . Behav Brain Res. 2015 283:22-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.01.017. PMID: 25601574

Whitney O, et al. . Science. 2014 346(6215):1256780. doi: 10.1126/science.1256780. PMID: 25504732

Pfenning AR, et al. . Science. 2014 346(6215):1256846. doi: 10.1126/science.1256846. PMID: 25504733

Jarvis ED, et al. . J Comp Neurol. 2013 521(16):3614-65. doi: 10.1002/cne.23404. PMID: 23818122

Warren WC, et al. . Nature. 2010 464(7289):757-62. doi: 10.1038/nature08819. PMID: 20360741

Künstner A, et al. . Mol Ecol. 2010 19 Suppl 1:266-76. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04487.x. PMID: 20331785

Wada K, et al. . Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 103(45):17064. doi: 10;103(41):15212-7. PMID: 17018643

Whitney O, Johnson F. . J Neurobiol. 2005 65(3):251-9. PMID: 16155900

Whitney O, Soderstrom K, Johnson F. . J Neurobiol. 2003 56(3):266-74. PMID: 12884265

Johnson F, Soderstrom K, Whitney O. Quantifying song bout production during zebra finch sensory-motor learning suggests a sensitive period for vocal practice. Behav Brain Res. 2002 131(1-2):57-65. PMID: 11844572

Whitney O, Soderstrom K, Johnson F. . Brain Res Mol Brain Res. 2000 80(2):279-90. PMID: 11038263

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