Single neuron correlates of learned song

描述(由申请人提供)： 这项研究的长期目标是分析声乐学习的神经机制。这项建议的目标是理解学习发声的运动和听觉代码。这项建议与R21的目的有关，通过应用一种新的、高度创新的慢性记录方法来研究一种新的模式物种的神经活动，特别适合于解决听觉-声音整合的性质。听觉引导的发声学习，就像人类和鸣禽(但很少有其他类群)所发生的那样，需要听觉和发声活动的神经整合。听觉-运动整合的神经基础的一个模型是，听觉-声音运动通路顶端的单个神经元编码声音手势的特定特征，并对该手势引起的结果声音做出反应。这项提议试图研究清醒的沼泽麻雀端脑HVC核中的单个神经元活动，沼泽麻雀是一种鸣禽，它能发出几种不同的发声，这些发声由绝对不同的基本单位(即歌曲音符)组成，在个人的声乐曲目中，不同的歌曲类型在不同程度上共享这些发声单位。第一个目标是记录沼泽麻雀在唱几种类型的歌时，单个识别出的HVC神经元的活动，其中两种或两种以上的歌曲共享一个音符。需要检验的假设是，HVC去除器神经元的活动与单个音符相关，但与音符序列无关。第二个目的是比较个体识别的HVC神经元在歌唱过程中的活动，然后通过扬声器回放鸟的各种歌声和音符类型。要检验的假设是，对于单个HVC运动前神经元，运动前活动和听觉反应对应于相同的共同发声单位(即音符)。该项目还将为未来的实验提供初步数据，这些实验旨在研究运动前活动和听觉活动在发声学习过程中是如何变化的，并测试HVC的听觉活动在感知所学发声中的作用。这个项目可以帮助确定听觉引导的发声学习的重要神经机制，从而可能对语音学习、感知和产生的神经机制有深入的了解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of this research is to analyze neural mechanisms that underlie vocal learning. The goals of this proposal are to understand both motor and auditory codes for learned vocalizations. This proposal relates to the R21 purpose by applying a new and highly innovative chronic recording method to study neural activity in a novel model species especially well suited to address the nature of auditory-vocal integration. Auditory-guided vocal learning, as occurs in humans and songbirds (but few other taxa), requires neural integration of auditory and vocal activity. One model for the neural basis for auditory-motor integration is that single neurons at the apex of the auditory-vocal motor pathway encode specific features of the vocal gesture and also respond to the resulting sound that this gesture elicits. This proposal seeks to study single neuron activity in the telencephalic nucleus HVc of the awake, behaving swamp sparrow, a songbird that produces several different vocalizations made up of categorically distinct elementary units (i.e., song notes) that are shared to varying degrees among the song types in an individual's vocal repertoire. The first Aim is to record the activity of individual identified HVc neurons in a swamp sparrow as it sings several song types, two or more of which share a note in common. The hypothesis to be tested is that HVc remotor neuron activity correlates with individual notes but not note sequences. The second Aim is to compare the activity of individual identified HVc neurons during singing and again, then the bird's various song and note types are played back to it through a speaker. The hypothesis to be tested is that for a single HVc premotor neuron the premotor activity and auditory response corresponds to the same common vocal unit (i.e., a note). This project also will provide pilot data for future experiments designed to study how premotor and auditory activity change during vocal learning, and to test the role of HVc's auditory activity in the perception of learned vocalizations. This project can help identify neural mechanisms important to audition guided vocal learning, and thus may yield insight into neural mechanisms for speech learning, perception and production.