Synaptic Processing in a Forebrain Pathway Essential For Vocal Learning In Songbirds

名称：David PerkelHumans、鲸目动物(鲸鱼和海豚)和一些鸟类是已知的唯一会发声的动物。因此，鸣禽为研究大脑如何学习发声行为提供了一个独特的可访问的模型系统。参与鸟类鸣叫产生和学习的大脑结构是不同的和明确的，但它们的功能联系还没有被很好地理解。目前的建议将研究鸟类的大脑回路，即前脑前通路，它(1)是发声学习所必需的，但不是产生歌声所必需的，(2)类似于哺乳动物中已知的涉及各种运动和认知功能的回路。这些实验将使用免疫学和电生理学技术来确定AFP是否像其哺乳动物一样，具有两个连续的抑制性投射阶段，即鸣禽是否存在相同的功能连接。两个主要的好处是：(1)阐明鸣禽调节发声学习的回路是如何工作的；(2)测试进化上保守的回路，这将为运动学习提出更一般的规则。这种相似性将为进一步的实验提供必要的指导，这些实验旨在了解发声学习和一般运动学习的详细细胞机制。

LAY ABSTRACTProposal #: IBN-9817889PI Name: David PerkelHumans, cetaceans (whales and dolphins) and some birds are the only animals known to learn their vocalizations. Songbirds thus provide a uniquely accessible model system for studying how the brain learns vocal behaviors. The brain structures involved in avian song production and learning are distinct and well defined, but their functional connections are not well understood. The present proposal will examine an avian brain circuit, the anterior forebrain pathway, which (1) is necessary for vocal learning but not song production and (2) resembles a circuit known in mammals to be involved in a variety of motor and cognitive functions.These experiments will use immunological and electrophysiological techniques to determine whether the AFP, as in its mammalian counterpart, has two sequential stages of inhibitory projections, i.e. whether the same functional wiring occurs in the songbird. Two primary benefits are: (1) clarification of how the circuit works in songbirds to mediate vocal learning and (2) testing for evolutionarily conserved circuitry, which would suggest more general rules for motor learning. Such similarities would provide essential guidance for further experiments aimed at understanding the detailed cellular mechanisms of vocal learning and of motor learning in general.