ZEBRA

For decades, songbirds have served as a premier model for conducting neurobiological research with wide implications for understanding human health and disease. Through a series of NINDS-, NHGRI- and NIGMS-funded projects, a large collection of molecular and genomic tools and resources have been made available in zebra finches and have begun to shed light on the basic molecular and genetic mechanisms that regulate the song control system and singing behavior. These resources include normalized brain cDNA libraries, comprehensive annotated brain EST databases, a BAC library, and the sequencing, assembly and annotation of the zebra finch genome. To make full use of these resources and for understanding how genes relate to brain function and behavior in songbirds, it is critical to map brain gene expression in the context of functional circuits. The goal of the ZEBrA project is to develop a publically available on-line digital atlas that documents the expression of a large collection of..