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。这个建议的目标是了解运动和听觉代码学习发声。该提案涉及R21的目的，通过应用一种新的和高度创新的慢性记录方法来研究一种新的模型物种的神经活动，特别适合于解决语音-声音整合的性质。听觉引导的发声学习，如发生在人类和鸣禽（但很少有其他类群），需要听觉和发声活动的神经整合。一个关于发声-运动整合的神经基础的模型是，位于发声-发声运动通路顶点的单个神经元编码发声手势的特定特征，并且还对该手势发出的声音做出反应。这项提议旨在研究清醒的、行为良好的沼泽麻雀的端脑核HVc中的单个神经元活动，沼泽麻雀是一种鸣禽，它产生由分类不同的基本单位组成的几种不同的发声（即，歌曲音符），其在个体的声乐曲目中的歌曲类型之间不同程度地共享。第一个目的是记录活动的个别确定HVc神经元在沼泽麻雀，因为它唱几种歌曲类型，其中两个或两个以上的共享一个共同的注意。待检验的假设是HVc运动神经元活动与单个音符相关，但与音符序列无关。第二个目的是比较单个识别的HVc神经元在歌唱过程中的活动，然后通过扬声器向其播放鸟类的各种歌曲和音符类型。待测试的假设是，对于单个HVc运动前神经元，运动前活动和听觉响应对应于相同的共同发声单元（即，a note）。该项目还将为未来的实验提供试点数据，旨在研究如何运动前和听觉活动在声乐学习过程中的变化，并测试HVc的听觉活动在学习发声的感知中的作用。这个项目可以帮助识别听觉引导的声乐学习的重要神经机制，从而可能产生深入了解语音学习，感知和生产的神经机制。

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.