Mechanisms of vocal learning in the zebra finch

斑胸草雀的声音学习机制

• 批准号: 7324117
• 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/7324117
• 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

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.

沟通障碍会影响数百万人。了解声带学习的神经基础将 实现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， 在生理和行为方面，鸣禽提供了最佳特征的模型。和 人类，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 成人辅导员是记忆的，并且是鸟类自己发声的感觉运动阶段 通过听觉反馈与Tutor歌曲相匹配。发声的塑造要求 听觉反馈与导师歌曲的记忆之间的比较 电路。我们最近发现，导师歌曲有选择地激活歌曲前的关键核心 途径（Nick＆Konishi，2005a）。这种选择性激活仅发生在醒来和 开发时期，老师歌曲记忆用于塑造发声。这表明 听觉反馈与导师歌曲内存的比较会产生一个有启发性的匹配信号 传递到前核。有4个特定假设：（1）单个神经元的反应 传达刺激与导师歌曲记忆之间的相似程度； （2）匹配信号发生 在唱歌期间； （3）匹配信号传递到基底神经节； （4）转化的机制 行为变化的匹配信号涉及歌曲系统中持续的神经活动 电机命令和感觉反馈的时间重叠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：多电极录音，这使得 对许多单个神经元的活性，抗体刺激的稳定评估，这使得能够 鉴定单个神经元和长期人口记录。最终目标是使用 匹配信号以阐明记忆和感觉在塑造声音行为中的作用。候选人，博士 特蕾莎·A·尼克（Teresa A. Nick）具有独特的资格来执行这些实验。她接受了（1）的培训 DRS的神经元和电路的发展。托马斯·凯夫（Thomas Carew）和伦纳德·卡兹玛雷克（Leonard Kaczmarek）（耶鲁大学）； （2）外部 从安吉尔斯·里贝拉（Angeles Ribera）博士（科罗拉多州大学）调节神经元发展； （3）发展， 依赖于国家的调制，以及从Masakazu Konishi博士（Caltech）学习Birdsong。她有 广泛发布有关神经发育的广泛发表，并发现了模板匹配的第一个证据 信号。她已经在歌曲系统上应用了几种新技术，并开发了一种新方法 结合多电极和抗肿瘤技术。明尼苏达大学提供了理想 由于听觉处理的优势，多电极 技术和抗体方法。