Mechanisms of vocal learning in the zebra finch

斑胸草雀的声音学习机制

• 批准号: 7175665
• 负责人: TERESA A NICK
• 金额: $ 10.62万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-12-01 至 2011-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7175665
• 关键词: Adolescent; Adult; Affect; Afferent Neurons; Animals; Area; Auditory; Basal Ganglia; Behavior; Behavioral; Birds; Brain; Cell Nucleus; Cereals; Colorado; Communication impairment; Data; Destinations; Development; Disease; Early Diagnosis; Electrodes; Environment; Esthesia; Finches; Goals; Human; Individual; Interneurons; Learning; Location; Memory; Methods; Minnesota; Modeling; Motor; Motor Activity; Motor Cortex; Names; Neurons; Pathway interactions; Phase; Physiological; Physiology; Population; Process; Production; Publishing; Qualifying; Relative (related person); Reporting; Research; Role; Sensory; Shapes; Signal Transduction; Songbirds; Stimulus; Synapses; System; Techniques; Testing; Time; Training; Universities; analog; auditory feedback; auditory stimulus; awake; base; bird song; motor control; neurodevelopment; novel; relating to nervous system; research study; response; sensorimotor system; sensory feedback; theories; vocal learning; vocalization; zebra finch

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Communication disorders affect millions of people. Understanding the neural bases of vocal learning will enable early diagnosis and effective treatment of these diseases. There are a few nonhuman vocal learners, of which the songbirds offer the best-characterized model in terms of physiology and behavior. As with humans, the zebra finch songbird learns its song in two phases: a sensory phase during which the song of an adult tutor is memorized and a sensorimotor phase during which the birds own vocalizations are shaped through auditory feedback to match the tutor song. The shaping of the vocalization requires that the comparison between auditory feedback and the memory of the tutor song sculpt the song motor control circuitry. We recently found that the tutor song selectively activates a key nucleus of the song premotor pathway (Nick & Konishi, 2005a). This selective activation occurs only during waking and only during the period of development when the tutor song memory is used to shape vocalizations. This suggests that the comparison of auditory feedback with the tutor song memory generates an instructive matching signal that is relayed to the premotor nucleus. There are 4 specific hypotheses: (1) responses of individual neurons convey the degree of similarity between stimuli and the tutor song memory; (2) the matching signal occurs during singing; (3) the matching signal is relayed to the basal ganglia; and (4) the mechanism that transforms the matching signal into behavioral change involves sustained neural activity in the song system that enables temporal overlap of motor command and sensory feedback and subsequent activity-dependent plasticity. The study will utilize three powerful techniques in awake juveniles: multi-electrode recording, which enables the stable assessment of the activity of many single neurons, antidromic stimulation, which enables the identification of individual neurons, and long-term population recordings. The ultimate goal is to use the matching signal to illuminate the role of memory and sensation in shaping vocal behavior. The candidate, Dr. Teresa A. Nick, is uniquely qualified to execute these experiments. She has received training on (1) the development of neurons and circuits from Drs. Thomas Carew and Leonard Kaczmarek (Yale); (2) extrinsic modulation of neuronal development from Dr. Angeles Ribera (Univ. Colorado); and (3) the development, state-dependent modulation, and learning of birdsong from Dr. Masakazu Konishi (Caltech). She has published extensively on neural development and has discovered the first evidence for a template-matching signal. She has already applied several novel techniques to the song system and developed a new method combining multi-electrode and antidromic techniques. The University of Minnesota provides the ideal environment in which to pursue these experiments, due to strengths in auditory processing, multi-electrode techniques, and antidromic methods.

描述（申请人提供）：沟通障碍会影响数百万人。了解声带学习的神经基础将使这些疾病的早期诊断和有效治疗。有一些非人类的人声学习者，鸣禽在生理和行为方面提供了最佳特征的模型。与人类一样，斑马芬奇鸣禽在两个阶段学习了歌曲：一个感官阶段，在此期间，成人辅导员的歌被记住，并且是一个感觉运动阶段，在此期间，鸟类自己的声音通过听觉反馈来形成以匹配教师歌曲。发声的塑造要求听觉反馈与导师歌曲的记忆之间的比较雕刻歌曲电动机控制电路。我们最近发现，老师歌曲有选择地激活歌曲前途径的关键核（Nick＆Konishi，2005a）。这种选择性激活仅在醒来时才会发生，并且仅在使用导师歌曲记忆来塑造发声时才发生。这表明将听觉反馈与导师歌曲记忆进行比较会产生一个有指导性的匹配信号，该信号传达给前核。有4个特定的假设：（1）单个神经元的响应传达了刺激与教师歌曲记忆之间的相似程度； （2）在唱歌期间发生匹配信号； （3）匹配信号传递到基底神经节； （4）将匹配信号转化为行为变化的机制涉及在歌曲系统中持续的神经活动，该神经活动能够使运动命令的时间重叠和感觉反馈以及随后的活动依赖性可塑性。该研究将在清醒少年中利用三种强大的技术：多电极记录，这可以稳定评估许多单个神经元的活性，抗体刺激，从而可以鉴定单个神经元和长期人群记录。最终目标是使用匹配信号来阐明记忆和感觉在塑造声音行为中的作用。候选人Teresa A. Nick博士具有独特的资格来执行这些实验。她已经接受了（1）DRS神经元和电路的发展培训。托马斯·凯夫（Thomas Carew）和伦纳德·卡兹玛雷克（Leonard Kaczmarek）（耶鲁大学）； （2）Angeles Ribera博士（科罗拉多州）对神经元发育的外在调节； （3）从Masakazu Konishi博士（Caltech）对鸟鸣的发展，国家依赖的调制和学习。她已经广泛发表了有关神经发育的广泛发表，并发现了模板匹配信号的第一个证据。她已经在歌曲系统中应用了几种新型技术，并开发了一种结合多电极和抗胶质技术的新方法。明尼苏达大学提供了一个理想的环境，可以通过听觉加工，多电极技术和抗胶片方法的优势进行这些实验。