Testing a model of cortico-basal ganglia support for juvenile imitative learning in zebra finches

项目摘要/摘要 青少年通过模仿熟练的成年人获得关键技能，就像婴儿模仿父母的语音一样。 有证据表明，皮质-基底节(CBG)回路对这一过程起关键作用。 尤其是当幼年斑马雀学习模仿成年家教时，实验上容易驯服 现象。幼年斑马雀的皮质通路可以产生刻板印象的歌声，变得更加 类似于老师在学习过程中的歌声。歌曲专用的CBG电路影响着这一活动 路径，急剧增加了歌曲声学从演唱到演唱的可变性。我的初步数据 这表明，与歌曲相比，CBG回路还能敏锐地诱导歌曲声学上的方向性变化 由皮质通路产生，不受CBG影响。拟议的实验验证了这样一种想法，即 CBG驱动针对模仿目标的快速声学转换，并在下游马达中慢慢巩固 皮质结构。为了验证这一假设，我开发了(1)小说歌曲分析和(2)小说 (3)在该模型系统中采用创新的视光技术的纵向实验设计。这些 实验有可能显著提高我们对CBG对斑雀鸣叫的支持的理解 学习，并在不需要外部设备的学习领域中测试CBG强化学习模型 增援。

Project Summary/Abstract Juveniles acquire crucial skills by imitating skilled adults, as when infants imitate their parents' speech sounds. Evidence suggests that cortico-basal ganglia (CBG) circuitry critically supports this process both in general and specifically when juvenile zebra finches learn to imitate an adult tutor, an experimentally tractable phenomenon. A cortical pathway in juvenile zebra finches can generate stereotyped song that becomes more similar to tutor song over the course of learning. A song-dedicated CBG circuit influences activity in this pathway, acutely increasing the variability of song acoustics from rendition to rendition. My preliminary data suggest that the CBG circuit also acutely induces a directional shift in song acoustics, compared to song generated by the cortical pathway without CBG influence. The proposed experiments test the idea that the CBG drives rapid acoustic shifts, directed at the imitation target, that slowly consolidate in downstream motor cortical structures. To test this hypothesis, I have developed a (1) novel song analysis and (2) a novel longitudinal experimental design that uses (3) innovative optogentic techniques in this model system. These experiments have the potential to significantly advance our understanding of CBG support for zebra finch song learning, and to test CBG reinforcement learning models in a learning domain that does not require external reinforcement.