Research interests
The Laboratory of Neurobiology is engaged in the study of the neurobiological basis of behaviour. Songbirds are employed as a model organism, as they are one of the few animal groups that can learn and imitate sounds. This has the advantage of allowing the brain pathways controlling learning and song production to be relatively well studied. These pathways are strictly separated from other pathways in the brain and are specialised only for this behaviour. Despite the fact that bird song is undoubtedly much simpler than human speech, there are many parallels between the two at behavioural, genetic, anatomical and neural levels.
The current research activities within our laboratory are primarily focused on two distinct areas of investigation. The initial objective is to identify and track the function of the vocal brain regions that control singing. Although the brain circuits controlling singing are known, the exact function of each area remains to be elucidated. Furthermore, our findings suggest the existence of new areas whose function for singing remains unexplored. In the second research topic, we investigate the functional significance and mechanisms of neurogenesis in the adult brain. We are studying the mechanisms involved in brain repair after damage, the factors influencing cell division and incorporation into brain regions, and the role of new neurons for behavioural plasticity.
A multidisciplinary approach is employed in the study, combining behavioural techniques (analysis of sound parameters, preference for listening to a particular song), anatomical techniques (tract delineation, brain surgery, pharmacological manipulation of brain regions) and molecular biology techniques (immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization). The integration of non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging, which allows repeated measurements in the brain of the same individual, is of particular importance.
People
Mgr. Ľubica Niederová-Kubíková, PhD. – head of the group
RNDr. Boris Bilčík, PhD.
RNDr. Ľubor Košťál, CSc.
Mgr. Eva Pavuková, PhD.
Mgr. Vladimíra Hoďová – PhD. student
Mgr. Rebecca Radič – PhD. student
Vladimír Géci – animal keeper
Bc. Nikola Kubáňová – Master student (Erasmus)
Allumni
2022 – Mgr.Justína Polomová, PhD. – PhD. thesis
2016 – Mgr. Kristína Lukáčová, PhD. – PhD. thesis
2012 – Mgr. Eva Bosíková (Pavuková), PhD. – PhD. thesis
2024 – Mgr. Valentína Marešová – Bc. and MSc. thesis
2022 – Mgr. Rebecca Gerőfiová – MSc. thesis
2020 – Ing. Viktória Mikulášková – MSc. thesis
2019 – Mgr. Jana Plaskoňová – Bc. and MSc. thesis
2018 – Mgr. Katarína Ambrušová – Bc. and MSc. thesis
2017 – Mgr. Justína Polomová – MSc. thesis
2015 – Mgr. Dušan Gdovin – Bc. and MSc. thesis
2011 – Mgr. Andrea Berényiová – Bc. and MSc. thesis
2010 – Mgr. Kvetoslava Smolíková – Bc. and MSc. thesis
2012 – Tereza Vargová – graduation project
Collaborations
Dr. Erich D. Jarvis na Duke University, USA
Dr. Svatava Kašparová a Dr. Ladislav Bačiak, STU Bratislava, Slovakia
Dr. Annemie van der Linden, University of Antwerp, Belgicko
Selected publications
- HOĎOVÁ, Vladimíra – MAREŠOVÁ, Valentína – RADIČ, Rebecca – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica. A daily rhythm of cell proliferation in a songbird brain. Scientific Reports, 2025, vol. 15, no. 1, art. no. 4685.
- RADIČ, Rebecca – LUKÁČOVÁ, Kristína – BACIAK, Ladislav – HOĎOVÁ, Vladimíra – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica. The role of cerebellum in learned vocal communication in adult songbirds. Scientific Reports, 2024, vol. 14, no. 1, art. no. 8168.
- PICHOVÁ, Katarína – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – KOŠŤÁL, Ľubor. The Acute Pharmacological Manipulation of Dopamine Receptors Modulates Judgment Bias in Japanese Quail. Frontiers in Physiology, 2022, vol. 13, art. no. 883021.
- LUKÁČOVÁ, Kristína – HAMAIDE, Julie – BACIAK, Ladislav – VAN DER LINDEN, Annemie – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica. Striatal Injury Induces Overall Brain Alteration at the Pallial, Thalamic, and Cerebellar Levels. In Biology-Basel, 2022, vol. 11, no. 3, art. no. 425.
- KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – POLOMOVÁ, Justína – MIKULÁŠKOVÁ, Viktória – LUKÁČOVÁ, Kristína. Effectivity of Two Cell Proliferation Markers in Brain of a Songbird Zebra Finch. Biology 2020, 9, 356.
- POLOMOVÁ, Justína – LUKÁČOVÁ, Kristína – BILČÍK, Boris – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica. Is neurogenesis in two songbird species related to their song sequence variability?. Proceedings. Biological sciences, 286(1895), 20182872.
- HAMAIDE, Julie – DE GROOF, Geert – VAN RUIJSSEVELT, Lisbeth – LUKÁČOVÁ, Kristína – VAN AUDEKERKE, Johan – VERHOYE, Marleen – VAN DER LINDEN, Annemie. Volumetric development of the zebra finch brain throughout the first 200 days of post-hatch life traced by in vivo MRI. NEUROIMAGE, 2018, vol. 183, p. 227-238.
- LUKÁČOVÁ, Kristína – VAN AUDEKERKE, Johan – VERHOYE, Marleen – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – VAN DER LINDEN, Annemie. Neuroplasticity in the cerebello-thalamo-basal ganglia pathway: A longitudinal in vivo MRI study in male songbirds. NEUROIMAGE, 2018, vol. 181, p. 190-202.
- LUKÁČOVÁ, Kristína – BACIAK, Ladislav – PAVUKOVÁ, Eva – PICHOVÁ, Katarína – KAŠPAROVÁ, Svatava – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica. Imaging of striatal injury in a songbird brain. General Physiology and Biophysics, 2017, vol. 36, p. 23-29.
- LUKÁČOVÁ, Kristína – PAVUKOVÁ, Eva – KOŠŤÁL, Ľubor – BILČÍK, Boris – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica. Dopamine D3 receptors modulate the rate of neuronal recovery, cell recruitment in Area X, and song tempo after neurotoxic damage in songbirds. Neuroscience, 2016, vol. 331, p. 158-168.
- KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – BOSÍKOVÁ, Eva – CVIKOVÁ, Martina – LUKÁČOVÁ, Kristína – SCHARFF, Constance – JARVIS, Erich D. Basal ganglia function, stuttering, sequencing, and repair in adult songbirds. Scientific Reports, 2014, vol. 4, p. 6590.
- ARVIS, Erich D. – YU, J. – RIVAS, M.V. – HORITA, H. – FEENDERS, G. – WHITNEY, O. – JARVIS, S.C. – JARVIS, E.R. – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – PUCK, A.E. – SIANG-BAKSI, C. – MARTIN, S. – MC ELROY, M. – HARA, Erina – HOWARD, Ju. – PFENNING, A. – MOURITSEN, H. – CHEN, C.C. – WADA, K. Global view of the functional molecular organization of the avian cerebrum: mirror images and functional columns. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 2013, vol. 521, no. 16, p. 3614-3616.
- BOSÍKOVÁ, Eva – KOŠŤÁL, Ľubor – CVIKOVÁ, Martina – BILČÍK, Boris – NIEDEROVÁ-KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica. Song-related dopamine receptor regulation in Area X of zebra finch male. General Physiology and Biophysics, 2012, vol. 31, no. 3, p. 291-298.
- PAVUKOVÁ, Eva – KOŠŤÁL, Ľubor – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica. Birdsong: From Behaviour to Brain. Biologia, 2010, vol. 65, no. 3, p. 379-387.
- KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – KOŠŤÁL, Ľubor. Dopaminergic system in birdsong learning and maintenance. Journal of chemical neuroanatomy, 2010, vol. 39, no. 2, p. 112-123.
- KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – VÝBOH, Pavel – KOŠŤÁL, Ľubor. Kinetics and pharmacology of the D-1- and D-2-like dopamine receptors in Japanese quail brain. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, 2009, vol. 29, no. 6-7, p. 961-970.
- HARA, Erina – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – HESSLER, Neal A. – JARVIS, Erich D. Assessing visual requirements for social context-dependent activation of the songbird song system. In Proceedings of the Royal Society : B – Biological Sciences, 2009, vol. 276, no., p. 279-289.
- HARA, Erina – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – HESSLER, Neal A. – JARVIS, Erich D. Role of the midbrain dopaminergic system in modulation of vocal brain activation by social context. European Journal of Neuroscience, 2007, vol. 25, no. 11, p. 3406–3416.
- KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – TURNER, Elena A. – JARVIS, Erich D. The pallial basal ganglia pathway modulates the behaviorally driven gene expression of the motor pathway. European Journal of Neuroscience, 2007, vol. 25, no. 7, p. 2145-2160.
- JARVIS, Erich D. – GÜNTÜRKÜN, Onur – BRUCE, Laura – CSILLAG, András – KARTEN, Harvey – KUENZEL, Wayne – MEDINA, Loreta – PAXINOS, George – PERKEL, David J. – SHIMIZU, Toru – STRIEDTER, Georg – WILD, J.Martin – BALL, Gregory F. – DUGAS-FORD, Jennifer – DURAND, Sarah E. – HOUGH, Gerald E. – HUSBAND, Scott – KUBÍKOVÁ, Ľubica – LEE, Diane W. – MELLO, Claudio V. – POWERS, Alice – SIANG, Connie – SMULDERS, Tom V. – WADA, Kazuhiro – WHITE, Stephanie A. – YAMAMOTO, Keiko – YU, Jing – REINER, Anton – BUTLER, Ann B. Avian brains and a new understanding of vertebrate brain evolution : opinion. Nature reviews : neuroscience, 2005, vol. 6, no. 2, p. 151-159. ISSN 1471-003X.
- REINER, A., PERKEL, D. J., BRUCE, L. L., BUTLER, A. B., CSILLAG, A., KUENZEL, W., MEDINA, L., PAXINOS, G., SHMIZU, T., STRIEDTER, G., WILD, M., BALL, G. F., DURAND, S., GÜNTÜRKÜN, O., LEE, D. W., MELLO, C. V., POWERS, A., WHITE, S. A., HOUGH, G., KUBIKOVA, L., … Avian Brain Nomenclature Forum (2004). Revised nomenclature for avian telencephalon and some related brainstem nuclei. The Journal of comparative neurology, 473(3), 377–414.