The role of perineuronal nets in the stabilization of birdsong behavior and neural circuits

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Many, if not all, neural circuits are sculpted during developmental periods of heightened plasticity known as critical or sensitive periods. General mechanisms that gate plasticity during critical periods are not known, and understanding the processes that control neural plasticity may provide insights into fundamental mechanisms that govern nervous system formation and function. These studies will examine fundamental mechanisms that regulate plasticity. A promising candidate that may limit plasticity is an extracellular coating, known as a perineuronal net that appears around a special subset of neurons when critical periods close. Whether a vocal critical period can be reopened and the brain changed by removing perineuronal nets will be determined in the birdsong system. Birdsong is the best experimental model of learned vocalization (e.g., speech in humans). Because song reports the status of the underlying neural circuit as a whole, on-line, and moment-by-moment, the birdsong model may prove an invaluable tool for dynamically probing the developmental mechanisms that underlie critical periods in general, including sensory critical periods. This knowledge will further understanding of neural plasticity and its limitations. These studies will also develop a potential reagent for reopening vocal plasticity in humans, the enzyme chondroitinase that destroys perineuronal nets. The Broader Impacts associated with this work include training of undergraduates and graduate students while performing the proposed research. In addition, the PI will provide community outreach, including participation in Brain Awareness Week, the Minnesota Brain Bee and training of high school teachers through lab tours and outreach to local schools.