Neural Basis of Sequence Generation in the Songbird

鸣禽序列生成的神经基础

• 批准号: 7018502
• 负责人: MICHALE S FEE
• 金额: $ 33.46万
• 依托单位: MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-02-15 至 2009-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7018502
• 关键词: animal communication behavior; auditory feedback; behavioral /social science research tag; biological models; biophysics; electrophysiology; ethology; interneurons; neural information processing; neuroanatomy; neurons; neuropharmacology; neuropsychology; psychomotor function; single cell analysis; songbirds; speech; vocalization

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The study of the neural mechanisms underlying the acquisition of complex behaviors is a new and intriguing area of neuroscience for which the songbird has emerged as an important model system. We have recently shown that the temporal structure of bird song may be controlled by an extremely sparse sequence of bursts in the avian premotor nucleus HVC. Preliminary recordings of antidromically identified premotor HVC neurons in the singing zebra finch show that these neurons are activated sequentially, each generating a burst of action potentials at a single precise moment of the song. Our proposal builds on these initial findings and aims to answer the following questions: What is the relation between vocal output and the sparse sequences of bursts in HVC? What is the organization and representation of motor control signals in higher premotor areas that project to HVC, such as NIf and Uva? We will use our new motorized microdrive to address the following Specific Aims: Aim 1) To characterize the firing patterns of antidromically-identified HVC projection neurons and interneurons in the singing bird. We wish to examine the relationship between vocal output and HVC firing patterns. Aim 2) To determine the extent to which firing patterns of HVC neurons are influenced by auditory feedback during singing. Aim 3) To characterize the firing patterns of antidromically identified NIf neurons in singing birds. Aim 4) Using a new head-fixed sleeping bird preparation, we will test the hypothesis that burst sequences in HVC are driven directly from higher premotor area NIf, but not Uva. The song control system represents a specialized motor circuit, evolved to produce a precisely controlled and learned motor behavior that, in many ways, is similar to human speech. An understanding of the neural circuit mechanisms underlying vocal production in the songbird should therefore have broad implications for our understanding of the dynamics and disorders of brain circuits, particularly those related to the detection, production, and learning of complex sensory and motor sequences.

描述（由申请人提供）：对复杂行为采集的神经机制的研究是神经科学的一个新且有趣的领域，鸣禽已成为重要的模型系统。我们最近表明，鸟歌的时间结构可以通过鸟类前核HVC中极为稀疏的爆发序列来控制。在歌唱斑马雀科中鉴定出抗细胞前的前HVC神经元的初步记录表明，这些神经元被依次激活，每种神经元在歌曲的单个精确时刻产生了动作电位爆发。我们的建议基于这些初始发现，并旨在回答以下问题：HVC中声音输出与爆发的稀疏序列之间的关系是什么？在投影到HVC的高级前运动区域（例如NIF和UVA）中，电动机控制信号的组织和表示是什么？我们将使用新的机动微型训练来解决以下特定目的：目标1）表征唱片鸟中抗鉴定的HVC投影神经元和中间神经元的发射模式。我们希望研究声音输出与HVC发射模式之间的关系。目标2）确定HVC神经元的发射模式在多大程度上受到唱歌过程中听觉反馈的影响。目的3）表征抗鸟鸟中抗抑制型NIF神经元的射击模式。 AIM 4）使用新的头部固定睡眠鸟制备，我们将测试HVC中的爆发序列直接从高级前nif驱动，而不是UVA。歌曲控制系统代表了一种专门的电动机电路，该电路旨在产生精确控制和学习的运动行为，在许多方面，它类似于人类的语音。因此，对鸣禽声音产生的神经回路机制的理解应该对我们对脑电路的动态和疾病的理解，尤其是与检测，生产和学习复杂感觉和运动序列有关的动力学和疾病具有广泛的影响。