​Christopher Olson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physiology 
College of Graduate Studies
Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ

My lab uses avian models to understand the physiology and neurobiology of vocal learning, a trait that is vital for human speech and vocal communication, but which is virtually non-existent in mammal species. To achieve this aim I have pioneered the use of the zebra finch to understand how factors like alcohol and micronutrients (vitamin A deficiency) affect vocal learning and vocal production through differential gene expression and the acoustic analysis of their song. I utilize several molecular approaches to measure gene expression and protein localization in the finch brain to better understand the molecular prerequisites to vocal learning and speech production. We are also exploring vocal learning in hummingbirds, a lineage that is unrelated to songbirds. Students in the lab can gain experience in a variety of techniques, including histological methods, molecular staining, descriptive and quantitative microscopy and vocal acoustics analysis.