Department of Psychology

Psychology > Faculty > Carolyn Pytte

Carolyn Pytte

Carolyn Pytte, PhD

Basic Information

Title: Associate Professor
Area: Behavioral Neuroscience
PhD: Indiana University, 1999
Email: carolyn.pytte@qc.cuny.edu
Office: 368 Razran
Office Phone: 718-997-4528
Lab:
Lab Phone: 718-997-3464
Website: Lab Website

Professional Activities

Society Memberships

  • The Society for Neuroscience
  • Sigma Xi
  • Grant reviewer for NSF

Ad hoc reviewer for

  • Behaviour
  • The Auk
  • Journal of Biosciences
  • Animal Behaviour
  • Journal of Neuroscience
  • Journal of Neurophysiology
  • PLoS ONE
  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Neurobiology
  • Journal of Biosciences
  • Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education (JUNE)
  • Proceedings of the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research
  • Journal of Neuroscience Methods

Research Description

My lab is interested in the function and regulation of new neurons born in the post-embryonic brain, particularly in adulthood.  Although we have known about adult neurogenesis for decades, the relationship between new neurons and behavior remains unclear. To study this brain-behavior relationship, we are focusing on new neurons that are incorporated into the motor pathway underlying the production of learned song motor patterns in songbirds.

New neurons are born in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles and migrate throughout the telencephalon where they become incorporated into existing networks.  One region that incorporates new neurons is the nucleus HVC, which is a component of the song motor pathway and is one of our regions of interest.  After new neurons reach HVC, many die within their first month of cell life. After this initial culling period, these young HVC neurons can live for many months before being replaced.  One question we are interested in is whether behavioral factors may influence the survival of new neurons.

Selected Publications

  1. Wang, N., P. Hurley, C.L. Pytte, and J.R. Kirn. 2002. Vocal control neuron incorporation decreases with age in the adult zebra finch. Journal of Neuroscience 22:10864-70.
  2. Landers, M., C.L. Pytte, and H.P. Zeigler. 2002. Technical Note: Reversible blockade of rodent whisking: Botulinum toxin as a tool for developmental studies. Somatosensory and Motor Research 19:358-363.
  3. Pytte, C.L., K. Rusch, and M.S. Ficken. 2003. Regulation of vocal amplitude in the blue-throated hummingbird (Lampornis clemenciae). Animal Behaviour 66:703-710.
  4. Pytte, C.L., M.S. Ficken, A. Moiseff. 2004. Ultrasonic singing in the blue-throated hummingbird: A comparison of production and perception. Journal of Comparative Physiology 190:665-73.
  5. Deregnaucourt, S., Mitra, P.P, Feher, O., Pytte, C., Tchernichovski, O. 2005. How sleep affects the developmental learning of bird song. Nature 433:710-716.
  6. Pytte, C.L., M. Gerson, and J. R. Kirn. 2007. Increasing stereotypy in adult zebra finch song correlates with a declining rate of adult neurogenesis. Dev Neurobiol. 67:1699-1720.
  7. Hurley, P., C.L. Pytte, and J.R. Kirn. 2008. Nest of origin predicts adult neuron addition rates in the vocal control system of the zebra finch. Brain, Behavior, and Evolution 71:263­270.
  8. Pytte, C.L., Parent, C., Wildstein, S., Varghese, C., Oberlander, S. (2010) Deafening decreases neuronal incorporation in the avian auditory region of the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM). Behavioural Brain Research 211:141-7.
  9. Cataldo, G., Lovric, J., Chen, C.C., Pytte, C.L., Bodnar, R.J. (2010) Ventromedial and medial preoptic hypothalamic ibotenic acid lesions potentiate systemic morphine analgesia in female, but not male rats. Behavioural Brain Research 214:301-16.
  10. Pytte, C.L., Yu, Y. , Wildstein, S., George, S., Kirn, J.R. (2011) Adult neuron addition to the zebra finch song motor pathway correlates with the rate and extent of recovery from botox-induced paralysis of the vocal muscles. The Journal of Neuroscience 31:16958-16968.
  11. Flory, J.D., Pytte, C.L., Hurd, Y., Ferrel, R.E., Manuck, S.B. (2011) Alcohol dependence, disinhibited behavior and variation in the prodynorphin gene. Biological Psychology 88:51-56.
  12. Pytte, C.L., George, S., Korman, S., David, E., Bogdan, D., Kirn, J.R. (2012) Adult neurogenesis may promote the maintenance of a stereotyped, learned motor behavior. The Journal of Neuroscience. 32:7052-7057.
  13. Pytte, C.L., Fienup, D.M. (2012) Using equivalence class based instruction to increase efficiency in teaching neuroanatomy. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education 10:125-131.
  14. Tsoi, S.C., Aiya, U.V., Wasner, K.D., Phan, M.L., Pytte, C.L., Vicario, D.S. (2014) Hemispheric asymmetry in new neurons in adulthood is associated with vocal learning and auditory memory. PLOS ONE. 9:e108929.
  15. Fienup, D.M., Mylan, S.E., Brodsky, J., Pytte C.L. (2016) From the laboratory to the classroom: The effects of equivalence-based instruction on neuroanatomy competencies. Journal of Behavioral Education. Nov 27
  16. Pytte, C.L. (2016) Adult neurogenesis in the songbird: Region-specific contributions of new neurons to behavioral plasticity and stability. Brain, Behavior and Evolution 87:191-204.
  17. Jordan, J.T., Shanley, M.R., Pytte, C.L. (2019) Behavioral state-dependent lateralization of dorsal dentate gyrus c-Fos expression in mice. Neuronal Signaling vol 3, https://doi.org/10.1042/NS20180206
  18. Harding, C.F., Pytte, C.L., Page, K.G., Ryberg, K. J., Normand, E., Remigio, G.J., DeStefano, R.A., Morris, D.B., Voronia, J., Lopez, A., Stalbow, L.B., Williams, E.P., Abreu, N.C. (2020) Mold inhalation causes innate immune activation, neural, cognitive and emotional dysfunction. Brain Behavior and Immunity 87:218-228.