Neural and Behavioural Plasticity: The Use of the Domestic Chick as a Model

A great deal is now known about the cellular changes which take place in neural circuits and, over the past twenty years, the chick has proved to be an invaluable model for work on memory formation. The prior experience of the chick is controllable in a way that is impossible to match in any other vertebrate, and the pharmacology and phases of memory formation are better established. In addition, the anatomy of the chick brain is now well established, allowing valuable comparisons with animal models. This book reviews all the main aspects of work on learning and plasticity in behaviour and neural mechanisms in the chick, together with related topics such as the development of behaviour and lateralization of function. It is an authoritative reference for researchers who wish to use the chick or to draw on the relevant literature. The aim is to introduce a wider audience to the chick as an experimental model and to describe the way in which it has been used in the investigation of learning and plasticity at every level, from the behavioural to the molecular. The authors are all experts in their field, from laboratories throughout the world. The book will be useful to all researchers in the field and of interest to psychologists, neurophysiologists, and those studying animal behaviour.

Table of Contents:
List of contributors; PART I: INTRODUCTION TO THE USE OF THE CHICK IN EXPERIMENT: R.J. Andrew: Introduction; Various authors: The chick in experiment: techniques and tests; PART II: ANATOMY: A.J. Andrew: Introduction; J.L. Dubbeldam: The avian and mammalian forebrain: correspondences and differences; O. Güntürkün: The functional organization of the avian visual system; PART III: DEVELOPMENT: R.J. Andrew: Introduction; P.P.G. Bateson: Making sense of behavioural development in the chick; M.H. Johnson & J. Bolhuis: Imprinting, predispositions, and filial preferences in the chick; P.P.G. Bateson, L. Workman, J.P. Kent, R.J. Andrew & M. Dharmaretnam: Development of behaviour in the chick; J.A.P. Rostas: Molecular mechanisms of neuronal maturation: a model for synaptic plasticity; PART IV: PHYSICAL BASIS OF LEARNING AND MEMORY: R.J. Andrew; Introduction; G. Horn: Imprinting and recognition memory: a review of neural mechanisms; B.J. McCabe: Hemispheric asymmetry of learning-induced changes; S.P.R. Rose: Biochemical mechanisms involved in memory formation in the chick; M.G. Stewart: Changes in dendritic and synaptic structure in chick forebrain consequent on passive avoidance learning; D.C. Davies: Lesion studies and the role of IMHV in early learning; PART V: MEMORY FORMATION: A.J. Andrew: Introduction: K.T. Ng & M.E. Gibbs: Stages in memory formation: a review; C. Allweis: The congruity of rat and chick multiphasic memory-consolidation models; M.R. Rosenzweig, E.L. Bennett, J.L. Martinex, Jr, D. Beniston, P.J. Colombo, D.W. Lee, T.A. Patterson, G. Schulteis, & P.A. Serrano: Stages of memory in the chick: findings and problems; R.M. Stephenson: Monoamine systems and memory formation; M.E. Gibbs, K.T. Ng, & S. Growe: Hormones and the timing of phases of memory formation; P.G. Clifton: Gonadal steroids and memory formation: R.J. Andrew: Cyclicity in memory formation; PART VI: LATERALIZATION: A.J. Andrew: Introduction; L.J. Rogers: Development of lateralization; R.J. Andrew: The nature of behavioural lateralization in the chick; Index.

Review :
'This volume includes contributions from almost every major international figure in chick neuroscience, and Richard Andrew deserves congratulations on his fine, diligent compilation... to the best of my knowledge, the only compact guide to this area of science. It is clear and reads well, being in six parts.' The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology