Neural and behavioral mechanisms of song learning in zebra finches

斑胸草雀鸣叫学习的神经和行为机制

• 批准号: 10678601
• 负责人: Miles Martinez
• 金额: $ 4.04万
• 依托单位: DUKE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-06-01 至 2026-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10678601
• 关键词: Acceleration; Acoustics; Adolescent; Adult; Athletic; Basal Ganglia; Behavior; Behavioral; Behavioral Mechanisms; Brain; Calcium; Collaborations; Complex; Computing Methodologies; Data; Development; Dimensions; Dopamine; Elements; Entropy; Experimental Designs; Exploratory Behavior; Faculty; Fiber; Finches; Frequencies; Generations; Goals; Hand; Image; Individual; Instruction; Learning; Learning Disorders; Learning Skill; Length; Machine Learning; Memory; Mentors; Methods; Midbrain structure; Modeling; Music; Neurosciences; Performance; Phase; Photometry; Photons; Play; Population; Positioning Attribute; Process; Production; Psychological reinforcement; Pupil; Research; Research Institute; Research Personnel; Rewards; Role; Signal Transduction; Songbirds; Source; Stochastic Processes; Structure; Supervision; Talents; Testing; Time; Variant; Vertebrates; Work; autoencoder; computer framework; computerized tools; experience; experimental study; fortification; high dimensionality; insight; learned behavior; member; neural; neuroimaging; neuromechanism; novel; optical imaging; rate of change; self-directed learning; sensor; skills; tool; tutoring; verbal; vocal learning; vocalization; zebra finch

Project Summary Many of our most impressive skills, such as those supporting extreme athletic talent or precise musical expression, are learned by imitating the skilled performance of a tutor. To successfully imitate a tutor, a pupil must generate a range of behaviors, evaluate them relative to an example of the tutor, and then reinforce those that are similar to that example. The generated behaviors are often highly elaborate and produced without any source of comparison other than the pupil's internal template. As such, imitative learning depends intimately on the pupil's ability to evaluate and reinforce its own performance in the absence of any extrinsic reward or instruction. The brain mechanisms that support imitative learning remain poorly understood, although it is well known that the basal ganglia (BG) play a central role in classical forms of reinforcement learning. How the BG evaluates and reinforces behavioral variants over the course of imitative learning remains uncertain. In my research I will characterize the relationship between neural activity in the BG, behavioral exploration, and reinforcement during imitative learning. My Specific Aims are: 1) To model the imitative learning process by which songbirds explore subsyllabic structure within song. 2) To jointly model vocal variability and BG circuit activity during song learning. Aim 1 will advance our understanding of the behavioral mechanisms of vocal learning and develop computational frameworks for understanding complex learning processes, while Aim 2 will relate neural variability in the BG to vocal variability during these learning processes. The analyses and models I create in this proposal will both provide insight into the song learning process in zebra finches and create a more general framework for studying complex skill learning. I will conduct this research under the supervision of Drs. John Pearson and Richard Mooney, a team of accomplished, interdisciplinary mentors with complementary skillsets. Their collaboration has already proven to be fruitful. I will work closely with members of the Mooney lab to hone our scientific questions, refine our experimental design, and develop our analyses. In doing so I will build a balanced set of theoretical and experimental skills. I bring a deep passion for understanding complex behavior on both behavioral and neural scales, in addition to expertise in behavioral and computational methods. The experience I gain from this proposal will make me a competitive and independent investigator, accelerating me towards my long-term goal of obtaining a faculty position at a research institute.

项目概要 我们许多最令人印象深刻的技能，例如支持极限运动天赋或精确音乐的技能 表达方式，是通过模仿导师熟练的表演来学习的。成功模仿导师、学生 必须产生一系列行为，根据导师的例子对其进行评估，然后强化这些行为 与该示例类似。生成的行为通常是高度复杂的并且在没有任何 除了学生的内部模板之外的比较来源。因此，模仿学习密切依赖于 学生在没有任何外在奖励或没有任何外在奖励的情况下评估和加强自己表现的能力 操作说明。尽管人们对支持模仿学习的大脑机制了解甚少， 众所周知，基底神经节（BG）在强化学习的经典形式中发挥着核心作用。背景如何 在模仿学习过程中评估和强化行为变量仍然不确定。在我的 研究我将描述 BG 中的神经活动、行为探索、 以及模仿学习过程中的强化。我的具体目标是：1）模拟模仿学习 鸣禽探索歌曲中的子音节结构的过程。 2）联合模拟声音变异性和 歌曲学习期间的 BG 电路活动。目标 1 将增进我们对行为机制的理解 声音学习并开发计算框架来理解复杂的学习过程，同时 目标 2 将在这些学习过程中将 BG 中的神经变异与声音变异联系起来。分析 我在本提案中创建的模型都将提供对斑胸草雀歌曲学习过程的深入了解 并创建一个更通用的框架来研究复杂的技能学习。我将在以下条件下进行这项研究 博士的监督。约翰·皮尔逊 (John Pearson) 和理查德·穆尼 (Richard Mooney) 是一支由多才多艺的跨学科导师组成的团队 互补的技能。事实证明，他们的合作卓有成效。我将与会员密切合作 穆尼实验室的负责人来磨练我们的科学问题，完善我们的实验设计，并发展我们的分析。 在此过程中，我将建立一套平衡的理论和实验技能。我带着深深的热情 除了行为方面的专业知识之外，还可以理解行为和神经尺度上的复杂行为 和计算方法。我从这个提案中获得的经验将使我成为一个有竞争力和 独立调查员，加速我实现在大学获得教职的长期目标 研究所。