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Bress KS, Cascio CJ. Sensorimotor regulation of facial expression - An untouched frontier. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 162:105684. [PMID: 38710425 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Facial expression is a critical form of nonverbal social communication which promotes emotional exchange and affiliation among humans. Facial expressions are generated via precise contraction of the facial muscles, guided by sensory feedback. While the neural pathways underlying facial motor control are well characterized in humans and primates, it remains unknown how tactile and proprioceptive information reaches these pathways to guide facial muscle contraction. Thus, despite the importance of facial expressions for social functioning, little is known about how they are generated as a unique sensorimotor behavior. In this review, we highlight current knowledge about sensory feedback from the face and how it is distinct from other body regions. We describe connectivity between the facial sensory and motor brain systems, and call attention to the other brain systems which influence facial expression behavior, including vision, gustation, emotion, and interoception. Finally, we petition for more research on the sensory basis of facial expressions, asserting that incomplete understanding of sensorimotor mechanisms is a barrier to addressing atypical facial expressivity in clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly S Bress
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Carissa J Cascio
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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2
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Park J, Choi S, Takatoh J, Zhao S, Harrahill A, Han BX, Wang F. Brainstem control of vocalization and its coordination with respiration. Science 2024; 383:eadi8081. [PMID: 38452069 PMCID: PMC11223444 DOI: 10.1126/science.adi8081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Phonation critically depends on precise controls of laryngeal muscles in coordination with ongoing respiration. However, the neural mechanisms governing these processes remain unclear. We identified excitatory vocalization-specific laryngeal premotor neurons located in the retroambiguus nucleus (RAmVOC) in adult mice as being both necessary and sufficient for driving vocal cord closure and eliciting mouse ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). The duration of RAmVOC activation can determine the lengths of both USV syllables and concurrent expiration periods, with the impact of RAmVOC activation depending on respiration phases. RAmVOC neurons receive inhibition from the preBötzinger complex, and inspiration needs override RAmVOC-mediated vocal cord closure. Ablating inhibitory synapses in RAmVOC neurons compromised this inspiration gating of laryngeal adduction, resulting in discoordination of vocalization with respiration. Our study reveals the circuits for vocal production and vocal-respiratory coordination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaehong Park
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Seonmi Choi
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Jun Takatoh
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Shengli Zhao
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Andrew Harrahill
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Bao-Xia Han
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Fan Wang
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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3
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González-García M, Carrillo-Franco L, Morales-Luque C, Dawid-Milner MS, López-González MV. Central Autonomic Mechanisms Involved in the Control of Laryngeal Activity and Vocalization. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:118. [PMID: 38392336 PMCID: PMC10886357 DOI: 10.3390/biology13020118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
In humans, speech is a complex process that requires the coordinated involvement of various components of the phonatory system, which are monitored by the central nervous system. The larynx in particular plays a crucial role, as it enables the vocal folds to meet and converts the exhaled air from our lungs into audible sounds. Voice production requires precise and sustained exhalation, which generates an air pressure/flow that creates the pressure in the glottis required for voice production. Voluntary vocal production begins in the laryngeal motor cortex (LMC), a structure found in all mammals, although the specific location in the cortex varies in humans. The LMC interfaces with various structures of the central autonomic network associated with cardiorespiratory regulation to allow the perfect coordination between breathing and vocalization. The main subcortical structure involved in this relationship is the mesencephalic periaqueductal grey matter (PAG). The PAG is the perfect link to the autonomic pontomedullary structures such as the parabrachial complex (PBc), the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus (KF), the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), and the nucleus retroambiguus (nRA), which modulate cardiovascular autonomic function activity in the vasomotor centers and respiratory activity at the level of the generators of the laryngeal-respiratory motor patterns that are essential for vocalization. These cores of autonomic structures are not only involved in the generation and modulation of cardiorespiratory responses to various stressors but also help to shape the cardiorespiratory motor patterns that are important for vocal production. Clinical studies show increased activity in the central circuits responsible for vocalization in certain speech disorders, such as spasmodic dysphonia because of laryngeal dystonia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta González-García
- Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
- Unit of Neurophysiology of the Autonomic Nervous System (CIMES), University of Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
- Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga (IBIMA Plataforma BIONAND), 29010 Málaga, Spain
| | - Laura Carrillo-Franco
- Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
- Unit of Neurophysiology of the Autonomic Nervous System (CIMES), University of Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
- Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga (IBIMA Plataforma BIONAND), 29010 Málaga, Spain
| | - Carmen Morales-Luque
- Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
| | - Marc Stefan Dawid-Milner
- Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
- Unit of Neurophysiology of the Autonomic Nervous System (CIMES), University of Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
- Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga (IBIMA Plataforma BIONAND), 29010 Málaga, Spain
| | - Manuel Víctor López-González
- Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
- Unit of Neurophysiology of the Autonomic Nervous System (CIMES), University of Málaga, 29010 Málaga, Spain
- Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga (IBIMA Plataforma BIONAND), 29010 Málaga, Spain
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Schuppe ER, Ballagh I, Akbari N, Fang W, Perelmuter JT, Radtke CH, Marchaterre MA, Bass AH. Midbrain node for context-specific vocalisation in fish. Nat Commun 2024; 15:189. [PMID: 38167237 PMCID: PMC10762186 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43794-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Vocalizations communicate information indicative of behavioural state across divergent social contexts. Yet, how brain regions actively pattern the acoustic features of context-specific vocal signals remains largely unexplored. The midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) is a major site for initiating vocalization among mammals, including primates. We show that PAG neurons in a highly vocal fish species (Porichthys notatus) are activated in distinct patterns during agonistic versus courtship calling by males, with few co-activated during a non-vocal behaviour, foraging. Pharmacological manipulations within vocally active PAG, but not hindbrain, sites evoke vocal network output to sonic muscles matching the temporal features of courtship and agonistic calls, showing that a balance of inhibitory and excitatory dynamics is likely necessary for patterning different call types. Collectively, these findings support the hypothesis that vocal species of fish and mammals share functionally comparable PAG nodes that in some species can influence the acoustic structure of social context-specific vocal signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric R Schuppe
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
- Department of Physiology, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Irene Ballagh
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
- Department of Zoology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, BC, Canada
| | - Najva Akbari
- Department of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Wenxuan Fang
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, BC, Canada
| | | | - Caleb H Radtke
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | | | - Andrew H Bass
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
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Park J, Choi S, Takatoh J, Zhao S, Harrahill A, Han BX, Wang F. Brainstem premotor mechanisms underlying vocal production and vocal-respiratory coordination. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.12.562111. [PMID: 37873071 PMCID: PMC10592834 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.12.562111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Speech generation critically depends on precise controls of laryngeal muscles and coordination with ongoing respiratory activity. However, the neural mechanisms governing these processes remain unknown. Here, we mapped laryngeal premotor circuitry in adult mice and viral-genetically identified excitatory vocal premotor neurons located in the retroambiguus nucleus (RAm VOC ) as both necessary and sufficient for driving vocal-cord closure and eliciting mouse ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). The duration of RAm VOC activation determines the lengths of USV syllables and post-inspiration phases. RAm VOC -neurons receive inhibitory inputs from the preBötzinger complex, and inspiration needs can override RAm VOC -mediated vocal-cord closure. Ablating inhibitory synapses in RAm VOC -neurons compromised this inspiration gating of laryngeal adduction, resulting in de-coupling of vocalization and respiration. Our study revealed the hitherto unknown circuits for vocal pattern generation and vocal-respiratory coupling. One-Sentence Summary Identification of RAm VOC neurons as the critical node for vocal pattern generation and vocal-respiratory coupling.
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Qi H, Luo L, Lu C, Chen R, Zhou X, Zhang X, Jia Y. TCF7L2 acts as a molecular switch in midbrain to control mammal vocalization through its DNA binding domain but not transcription activation domain. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:1703-1717. [PMID: 36782064 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-01993-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
Vocalization is an essential medium for social signaling in birds and mammals. Periaqueductal gray (PAG) a conserved midbrain structure is believed to be responsible for innate vocalizations, but its molecular regulation remains largely unknown. Here, through a mouse forward genetic screening we identified one of the key Wnt/β-catenin effectors TCF7L2/TCF4 controls ultrasonic vocalization (USV) production and syllable complexity during maternal deprivation and sexual encounter. Early developmental expression of TCF7L2 in PAG excitatory neurons is necessary for the complex trait, while TCF7L2 loss reduces neuronal gene expressions and synaptic transmission in PAG. TCF7L2-mediated vocal control is independent of its β-catenin-binding domain but dependent of its DNA binding ability. Patient mutations associated with developmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, disrupt the transcriptional repression effect of TCF7L2, while mice carrying those mutations display severe USV impairments. Therefore, we conclude that TCF7L2 orchestrates gene expression in midbrain to control vocal production through its DNA binding but not transcription activation domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huihui Qi
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.,School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.,IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Li Luo
- Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence (THBI), Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Caijing Lu
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.,School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Runze Chen
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.,IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xianyao Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaohui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yichang Jia
- Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China. .,School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China. .,IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China. .,Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence (THBI), Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
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Shembel AC, Nanjundeswaran C. Potential Biophysiological Mechanisms Underlying Vocal Demands and Vocal Fatigue. J Voice 2022:S0892-1997(22)00220-X. [PMID: 36008185 PMCID: PMC9943805 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Patients with complaint of vocal fatigue have perceptual, acoustic, and aerodynamic outcomes that are heterogeneous in nature. One reason may be due to different underlying biophysiological mechanisms that lead to these heterogeneous clinical presentations. Five potential mechanisms are proposed: neuromuscular, metabolic, vocal tissue, afferent, and central neural. Analytical frameworks and study designs to study these mechanisms are also addressed. A better understanding of biophysiological mechanisms of vocal fatigue can improve precision of therapeutic approaches. It can also help shift management from symptom-based to etiology-focused approaches for vocal fatigue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrianna C Shembel
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas; Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck, Voice Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
| | - Chaya Nanjundeswaran
- Department of Audiology & Speech Language Pathology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee
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Nanjundeswaran C, Shembel AC. Laying the Groundwork to Study the Heterogeneous Nature of Vocal Fatigue. J Voice 2022:S0892-1997(22)00210-7. [PMID: 35945099 PMCID: PMC9899868 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Vocal fatigue has remained an elusive construct-despite its significant impact on communication, vocation, and quality of life. Current frameworks define vocal fatigue in the context of vocal demands and vocal demand-responses. However, the impact of factors like individuals' baseline vocal fitness and perception of the demand are not well understood. What is also not well understood are the effects of specific vocal demand ingredients on an individual's vocal demand responses. Furthermore, current outcome measures utilized to capture vocal fatigue lack sensitivity and underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. These gaps have led to inconclusive next steps in how to best define, assess, monitor, and manage vocal fatigue. A conceptual framework is needed to study and better understand vocal fatigue constructs. Such a framework should consider the individual's baseline physiology, psychology, key vocal demand ingredients, and biophysiological mechanisms underlying demand responses. The objective of this paper is to help the reader better understand the complex and heterogeneous nature of vocal fatigue and its impact on reliable assessment and monitoring. Future studies will require better elucidation of vocal demand ingredients, will need more sensitive vocal demand response measures, and will need to take in to account an individual's baseline physiology and psychological factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaya Nanjundeswaran
- Department of Audiology & Speech Language Pathology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee.
| | - Adrianna C Shembel
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, Texas; Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck, Voice Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
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Karigo T. Gaining insights into the internal states of the rodent brain through vocal communications. Neurosci Res 2022; 184:1-8. [PMID: 35908736 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2022.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Animals display various behaviors during social interactions. Social behaviors have been proposed to be driven by the internal states of the animals, reflecting their emotional or motivational states. However, the internal states that drive social behaviors are complex and difficult to interpret. Many animals, including mice, use vocalizations for communication in various social contexts. This review provides an overview of current understandings of mouse vocal communications, its underlying neural circuitry, and the potential to use vocal communications as a readout for the animal's internal states during social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomomi Karigo
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering 140-18,TianQiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA 91125, USA; Present address: Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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10
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Long-Distance Vocal Signaling in White-Handed Gibbons (Hylobates lar). INT J PRIMATOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-022-00312-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Hartmann K, Brecht M. A Functionally and Anatomically Bipartite Vocal Pattern Generator in the Rat Brain Stem. iScience 2020; 23:101804. [PMID: 33299974 PMCID: PMC7702002 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The mammalian vocal pattern generator is situated in the brainstem but its exact structure is debated. We mapped these circuits in rats by cooling and microstimulation. Local cooling disrupted call production above an anterior and a posterior brainstem position. Anterior cooling affected predominantly high-frequency calls, whereas posterior cooling affected low-frequency calls. Electrical microstimulation of the anterior part led to modulated high-frequency calls, whereas microstimulation of the posterior part led to flat, low-frequency calls. At intermediate positions cooling did not affect calls and stimulation did not elicit calls. The anterior region corresponds to a subsection of the parvicellular reticular formation that we term the vocalization parvicellular reticular formation (VoPaRt). The posterior vocalization sites coincide with the nucleus retroambiguus (NRA). VoPaRt and NRA neurons were very small and the VoPaRt was highly myelinated, suggestive of high-speed processing. Our data suggest an anatomically and functionally bipartite vocal pattern generator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Hartmann
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Brecht
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany
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Merico A, De Marco M, Berta G, Manca R, Giulietti G, Bozzali M, Venneri A. Right fronto-parietal white matter disruption contributes to speech impairments in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Brain Res Bull 2020; 158:77-83. [PMID: 32119965 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2020.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2019] [Revised: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Non-linguistic properties of speech are widely heterogeneous and require complex neurological integration. The association between white matter integrity and the severity of dysarthria was investigated in a group of patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). METHODS Thirty-six patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis completed a magnetic resonance imaging protocol inclusive of diffusion-weighted images. A clinical assessment of pneumo-phono-articulatory abilities was conducted for each patient, and a composite score of residual speech capacity was calculated. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics was carried out to model the potential association between residual speech capacity and microstructural properties of white matter (fractional anisotropy, mean and radial diffusivity). RESULTS A significant negative association was found between residual speech capacity and mean diffusivity in a large white matter cluster located in frontal, parietal and right temporal regions. These subcortical areas were characterised by pathological microstructural disruption, as revealed by post hoc analyses. CONCLUSIONS Non-linguistic aspects of speech are associated with microstructural integrity of frontal, parietal and right temporal white matter in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Such mapping is consistent with the centres responsible of volitional control of speech and sensory feedback during non-linguistic speech production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Merico
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Azienda Sanitaria Locale, Lecce, Italy
| | - Matteo De Marco
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Giulia Berta
- IRCCS Fondazione Ospedale San Camillo, Venice Lido, Italy
| | - Riccardo Manca
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | | | - Marco Bozzali
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - Annalena Venneri
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
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Mooney R. The neurobiology of innate and learned vocalizations in rodents and songbirds. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 64:24-31. [PMID: 32086177 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Vocalizations are an important medium for sexual and social signaling in mammals and birds. In most mammals other than humans, vocalizations are specified by innate mechanisms and develop normally in the absence of auditory experience. By contrast, juvenile songbirds memorize and copy the songs of adult tutors, a process with many parallels to human speech learning. Despite the centrality of vocal learning to human speech, vocal production in humans as well as in songbirds exploits ancestral circuitry for innate vocalizations, and effective vocal communication depends on the fluent blending of innate and learned elements. This review covers recent advances in our understanding of central mechanisms for learned and innate vocalizations in birds and mice, including brainstem mechanisms that help to 'gate' vocalizations on or off, cortical involvement in learned and innate vocalizations, and the delineation of circuits that evaluate and reinforce song performance to facilitate vocal learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Mooney
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27705, United States.
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Hage SR. The role of auditory feedback on vocal pattern generation in marmoset monkeys. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 60:92-98. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Revised: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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15
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Nieder A, Mooney R. The neurobiology of innate, volitional and learned vocalizations in mammals and birds. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190054. [PMID: 31735150 PMCID: PMC6895551 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocalization is an ancient vertebrate trait essential to many forms of communication, ranging from courtship calls to free verse. Vocalizations may be entirely innate and evoked by sexual cues or emotional state, as with many types of calls made in primates, rodents and birds; volitional, as with innate calls that, following extensive training, can be evoked by arbitrary sensory cues in non-human primates and corvid songbirds; or learned, acoustically flexible and complex, as with human speech and the courtship songs of oscine songbirds. This review compares and contrasts the neural mechanisms underlying innate, volitional and learned vocalizations, with an emphasis on functional studies in primates, rodents and songbirds. This comparison reveals both highly conserved and convergent mechanisms of vocal production in these different groups, despite their often vast phylogenetic separation. This similarity of central mechanisms for different forms of vocal production presents experimentalists with useful avenues for gaining detailed mechanistic insight into how vocalizations are employed for social and sexual signalling, and how they can be modified through experience to yield new vocal repertoires customized to the individual's social group. This article is part of the theme issue 'What can animal communication teach us about human language?'
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Richard Mooney
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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16
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Bennett PJG, Maier E, Brecht M. Involvement of rat posterior prelimbic and cingulate area 2 in vocalization control. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 50:3164-3180. [PMID: 31136026 PMCID: PMC6899747 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Microstimulation mapping identified vocalization areas in primate anterior cingulate cortex. Rat anterior cingulate and medial prefrontal areas have also been intensely investigated, but we do not know, how these cortical areas contribute to vocalizations and no systematic mapping of stimulation‐evoked vocalizations has been performed. To address this question, we mapped microstimulation‐evoked (ultrasonic) vocalizations in rat cingulate and medial prefrontal cortex. The incidence of evoked vocalizations differed markedly between frontal cortical areas. Vocalizations were most often evoked in posterior prelimbic cortex and cingulate area 2, whereas vocalizations were rarely evoked in dorsal areas (vibrissa motor cortex, secondary motor cortex and cingulate area 1) and anterior areas (anterior prelimbic, medial‐/ventral‐orbital cortex). Vocalizations were observed at intermediate frequencies in ventro‐medial areas (infralimbic and dorsopeduncular cortex). Various complete, naturally occurring calls could be elicited. In prelimbic cortex superficial layer microstimulation evoked mainly fear calls with low efficacy, whereas deep layer microstimulation evoked mainly 50 kHz calls with high efficacy. Vocalization stimulation thresholds were substantial (70–500 μA, the maximum tested; on average ~400 μA) and latencies were long (median 175 ms). Posterior prelimbic cortex projected to numerous targets and innervated brainstem vocalization centers such as the intermediate reticular formation and the nucleus retroambiguus disynaptically via the periaqueductal gray. Anatomical position, stimulation effects and projection targets of posterior prelimbic cortex were similar to that of monkey anterior cingulate vocalization cortex. Our data suggest that posterior prelimbic cortex is more closely involved in control of vocalization initiation than in specifying acoustic details of vocalizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Julian Garnett Bennett
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eduard Maier
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Brecht
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Berlin, Germany.,NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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17
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Koda H, Kunieda T, Nishimura T. From hand to mouth: monkeys require greater effort in motor preparation for voluntary control of vocalization than for manual actions. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:180879. [PMID: 30564395 PMCID: PMC6281949 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.180879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Voluntary control of vocal production is an essential component of the language faculty, which is thought to distinguish humans from other primates. Recent experiments have begun to reveal the capability of non-human primates to perform vocal control; however, the mechanisms underlying this ability remain unclear. Here, we revealed that Japanese macaque monkeys can learn to vocalize voluntarily through a different mechanism than that used for manual actions. The monkeys rapidly learned to touch a computer monitor when a visual stimulus was presented and showed a capacity for flexible adaptation, such that they reacted when the visual stimulus was shown at an unexpected time. By contrast, successful vocal training required additional time, and the monkeys exhibited difficulty with vocal execution when the visual stimulus appeared earlier than expected; this occurred regardless of extensive training. Thus, motor preparation before execution of an action may be a key factor in distinguishing vocalization from manual actions in monkeys; they do not exhibit a similar ability to perform motor preparation in the vocal domains. By performing direct comparisons, this study provides novel evidence regarding differences in motor control abilities between vocal and manual actions. Our findings support the suggestion that the functional expansion from hand to mouth might be a critical evolutionary event for the acquisition of voluntary control of vocalizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Koda
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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18
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Rosner E, Rohmann KN, Bass AH, Chagnaud BP. Inhibitory and modulatory inputs to the vocal central pattern generator of a teleost fish. J Comp Neurol 2018; 526:1368-1388. [PMID: 29424431 PMCID: PMC5901028 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Revised: 01/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Vocalization is a behavioral feature that is shared among multiple vertebrate lineages, including fish. The temporal patterning of vocal communication signals is set, in part, by central pattern generators (CPGs). Toadfishes are well-established models for CPG coding of vocalization at the hindbrain level. The vocal CPG comprises three topographically separate nuclei: pre-pacemaker, pacemaker, motor. While the connectivity between these nuclei is well understood, their neurochemical profile remains largely unexplored. The highly vocal Gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta, has been the subject of previous behavioral, neuroanatomical and neurophysiological studies. Combining transneuronal neurobiotin-labeling with immunohistochemistry, we map the distribution of inhibitory neurotransmitters and neuromodulators along with gap junctions in the vocal CPG of this species. Dense GABAergic and glycinergic label is found throughout the CPG, with labeled somata immediately adjacent to or within CPG nuclei, including a distinct subset of pacemaker neurons co-labeled with neurobiotin and glycine. Neurobiotin-labeled motor and pacemaker neurons are densely co-labeled with the gap junction protein connexin 35/36, supporting the hypothesis that transneuronal neurobiotin-labeling occurs, at least in part, via gap junction coupling. Serotonergic and catecholaminergic label is also robust within the entire vocal CPG, with additional cholinergic label in pacemaker and prepacemaker nuclei. Likely sources of these putative modulatory inputs are neurons within or immediately adjacent to vocal CPG neurons. Together with prior neurophysiological investigations, the results reveal potential mechanisms for generating multiple classes of social context-dependent vocalizations with widely divergent temporal and spectral properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Rosner
- Department Biologie II, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, 82152, Germany.,Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, 82152, Germany
| | - Kevin N Rohmann
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, W239/233 Mudd Hall Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853
| | - Andrew H Bass
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, W239/233 Mudd Hall Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853
| | - Boris P Chagnaud
- Department Biologie II, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, 82152, Germany
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19
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Yamaguchi A, Cavin Barnes J, Appleby T. Rhythm generation, coordination, and initiation in the vocal pathways of male African clawed frogs. J Neurophysiol 2017; 117:178-194. [PMID: 27760822 PMCID: PMC5209533 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00628.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2016] [Accepted: 10/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Central pattern generators (CPGs) in the brain stem are considered to underlie vocalizations in many vertebrate species, but the detailed mechanisms underlying how motor rhythms are generated, coordinated, and initiated remain unclear. We addressed these issues using isolated brain preparations of Xenopus laevis from which fictive vocalizations can be elicited. Advertisement calls of male X. laevis that consist of fast and slow trills are generated by vocal CPGs contained in the brain stem. Brain stem central vocal pathways consist of a premotor nucleus [dorsal tegmental area of medulla (DTAM)] and a laryngeal motor nucleus [a homologue of nucleus ambiguus (n.IX-X)] with extensive reciprocal connections between the nuclei. In addition, DTAM receives descending inputs from the extended amygdala. We found that unilateral transection of the projections between DTAM and n.IX-X eliminated premotor fictive fast trill patterns but did not affect fictive slow trills, suggesting that the fast and slow trill CPGs are distinct; the slow trill CPG is contained in n.IX-X, and the fast trill CPG spans DTAM and n.IX-X. Midline transections that eliminated the anterior, posterior, or both commissures caused no change in the temporal structure of fictive calls, but bilateral synchrony was lost, indicating that the vocal CPGs are contained in the lateral halves of the brain stem and that the commissures synchronize the two oscillators. Furthermore, the elimination of the inputs from extended amygdala to DTAM, in addition to the anterior commissure, resulted in autonomous initiation of fictive fast but not slow trills by each hemibrain stem, indicating that the extended amygdala provides a bilateral signal to initiate fast trills. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Central pattern generators (CPGs) are considered to underlie vocalizations in many vertebrate species, but the detailed mechanisms underlying their functions remain unclear. We addressed this question using an isolated brain preparation of African clawed frogs. We discovered that two vocal phases are mediated by anatomically distinct CPGs, that there are a pair of CPGs contained in the left and right half of the brain stem, and that mechanisms underlying initiation of the two vocal phases are distinct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayako Yamaguchi
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | | | - Todd Appleby
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
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Tupal S, Rieger MA, Ling GY, Park TJ, Dougherty JD, Goodchild AK, Gray PA. Testing the role of preBötzinger Complex somatostatin neurons in respiratory and vocal behaviors. Eur J Neurosci 2014; 40:3067-77. [PMID: 25040660 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2014] [Accepted: 06/07/2014] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Identifying neurons essential for the generation of breathing and related behaviors such as vocalisation is an important question for human health. The targeted loss of preBötzinger Complex (preBötC) glutamatergic neurons, including those that express high levels of somatostatin protein (SST neurons), eliminates normal breathing in adult rats. Whether preBötC SST neurons represent a functionally specialised population is unknown. We tested the effects on respiratory and vocal behaviors of eliminating SST neuron glutamate release by Cre-Lox-mediated genetic ablation of the vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGlut2). We found the targeted loss of VGlut2 in SST neurons had no effect on viability in vivo, or on respiratory period or responses to neurokinin 1 or μ-opioid receptor agonists in vitro. We then compared medullary SST peptide expression in mice with that of two species that share extreme respiratory environments but produce either high or low frequency vocalisations. In the Mexican free-tailed bat, SST peptide-expressing neurons extended beyond the preBötC to the caudal pole of the VII motor nucleus. In the naked mole-rat, however, SST-positive neurons were absent from the ventrolateral medulla. We then analysed isolation vocalisations from SST-Cre;VGlut2(F/F) mice and found a significant prolongation of the pauses between syllables during vocalisation but no change in vocalisation number. These data suggest that glutamate release from preBötC SST neurons is not essential for breathing but play a species- and behavior-dependent role in modulating respiratory networks. They further suggest that the neural network generating respiration is capable of extensive plasticity given sufficient time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srinivasan Tupal
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
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21
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Abstract
Small units of production, or modules, can be effective building blocks of more complex motor behaviors. Recording underlying movements of vocal production in awake and spontaneously behaving male Sprague Dawley rats interacting with a female, I tested whether the underlying movements of ultrasonic calls can be described by modules. Movements were quantified by laryngeal muscle EMG activity and subglottal pressure changes. A module was defined by uniformity in both larynx movement and pressure pattern that resulted in a specific spectrographic feature. Modules are produced either singly (single module call type) or in combination with a different module (composite call type). Distinct modules were shown to be linearly (re)combined. Additionally, I found that modules produced during the same expiratory phase can be linked with or without a pause in laryngeal activity, the latter creating the spectrographic appearance of two separate calls. Results suggest that combining discrete modules facilitates generation of higher-order patterns, thereby increasing overall complexity of the vocal repertoire. With additional study, modularity and flexible laryngeal-respiratory coordination may prove to be a basal feature of mammalian vocal motor control.
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22
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Single neurons in monkey prefrontal cortex encode volitional initiation of vocalizations. Nat Commun 2014; 4:2409. [PMID: 24008252 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2013] [Accepted: 08/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Broca's area in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) has a crucial role in human volitional speech production; damage to this area causes severe impairment of speech production. Lesions in PFC of monkeys, however, have only mild effects on spontaneous vocal behaviour. Non-human primate vocalizations are thus believed to constitute affective utterances processed by a subcortical network. Here in contrast to this assumption, we show that rhesus monkeys can control their vocalizations in a goal-directed way. During single-cell recordings in the vlPFC of monkeys trained to vocalize in response to visual cues, we find call-related neurons that specifically predict the preparation of instructed vocalizations. The activity of many call-related neurons before vocal output correlates with call parameters of instructed vocalizations. These findings suggest a cardinal role of the monkey homologue of Broca's area in vocal planning and call initiation, a putative phylogenetic precursor in non-human primates for speech control in linguistic humans.
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Ma J, Kanwal JS. Stimulation of the basal and central amygdala in the mustached bat triggers echolocation and agonistic vocalizations within multimodal output. Front Physiol 2014; 5:55. [PMID: 24624089 PMCID: PMC3942181 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2014.00055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2013] [Accepted: 01/28/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The neural substrate for the perception of vocalizations is relatively well described, but how their timing and specificity are tightly coupled with accompanying physiological changes and context-appropriate behaviors remains unresolved. We hypothesized that temporally integrated vocal and emotive responses, especially the expression of fear, vigilance and aggression, originate within the amygdala. To test this hypothesis, we performed electrical microstimulation at 461 highly restricted loci within the basal and central amygdala in awake mustached bats. At a subset of these sites, high frequency stimulation with weak constant current pulses presented at near-threshold levels triggered vocalization of either echolocation pulses or social calls. At the vast majority of locations, microstimulation produced a constellation of changes in autonomic and somatomotor outputs. These changes included widespread co-activation of significant tachycardia and hyperventilation and/or rhythmic ear pinna movements (PMs). In a few locations, responses were constrained to vocalization and/or PMs despite increases in the intensity of stimulation. The probability of eliciting echolocation pulses vs. social calls decreased in a medial-posterior to anterolateral direction within the centrobasal amygdala. Microinjections of kainic acid (KA) at stimulation sites confirmed the contribution of cellular activity rather than fibers-of-passage in the control of multimodal outputs. The results suggest that localized clusters of neurons may simultaneously modulate the activity of multiple central pattern generators (CPGs) present within the brainstem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Ma
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University Washington, DC, USA
| | - Jagmeet S Kanwal
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University Washington, DC, USA ; Department of Neurology, Georgetown University Washington, DC, USA
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24
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Abstract
Pontine respiratory nuclei provide synaptic input to medullary rhythmogenic circuits to shape and adapt the breathing pattern. An understanding of this statement depends on appreciating breathing as a behavior, rather than a stereotypic rhythm. In this review, we focus on the pontine-mediated inspiratory off-switch (IOS) associated with postinspiratory glottal constriction. Further, IOS is examined in the context of pontine regulation of glottal resistance in response to multimodal sensory inputs and higher commands, which in turn rules timing, duration, and patterning of respiratory airflow. In addition, network plasticity in respiratory control emerges during the development of the pons. Synaptic plasticity is required for dynamic and efficient modulation of the expiratory breathing pattern to cope with rapid changes from eupneic to adaptive breathing linked to exploratory (foraging and sniffing) and expulsive (vocalizing, coughing, sneezing, and retching) behaviors, as well as conveyance of basic emotions. The speed and complexity of changes in the breathing pattern of behaving animals implies that "learning to breathe" is necessary to adjust to changing internal and external states to maintain homeostasis and survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Dutschmann
- Florey Neurosciences Institutes, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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25
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Hage SR, Gavrilov N, Salomon F, Stein AM. Temporal vocal features suggest different call-pattern generating mechanisms in mice and bats. BMC Neurosci 2013; 14:99. [PMID: 24020588 PMCID: PMC3846851 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-14-99] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2013] [Accepted: 09/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Mice produce ultrasonic vocalizations in various inter-individual encounters and with high call rates. However, it is so far virtually unknown how these vocal patterns are generated. On the one hand, these vocal patterns could be embedded into the normal respiratory cycle, as happens in bats and other mammals that produce similar call rates and frequencies. On the other, mice could possess distinct vocal pattern generating systems that are capable of modulating the respiratory cycle, which is what happens in non-human and human primates. In the present study, we investigated the temporal call patterns of two different mammalian species, bats and mice, in order to differentiate between these two possibilities for mouse vocalizations. Our primary focus was on comparing the mechanisms for the production of rapid, successive ultrasound calls of comparable frequency ranges in the two species. Results We analyzed the temporal call pattern characteristics of mice, and we compared these characteristics to those of ultrasonic echolocation calls produced by horseshoe bats. We measured the distributions of call durations, call intervals, and inter-call intervals in the two species. In the bat, and consistent with previous studies, we found that call duration was independent of corresponding call intervals, and that it was negatively correlated with the corresponding inter-call interval. This indicates that echolocation call production mechanisms in the bat are highly correlated with the respiratory cycle. In contrast, call intervals in the mouse were directly correlated with call duration. Importantly, call duration was not, or was only slightly, correlated with inter-call intervals, consistent with the idea that vocal production in the mouse is largely independent of the respiratory cycle. Conclusions Our findings suggest that ultrasonic vocalizations in mice are produced by call-pattern generating mechanisms that seem to be similar to those that have been found in primates. This is in contrast to the production mechanisms of ultrasonic echolocation calls in horseshoe bats. These results are particularly interesting, especially since mouse vocalizations have recently attracted increased attention as potential indicators for the degree of progression of several disease patterns in mouse models for neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders of humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen R Hage
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, Tübingen, 72076, Germany.
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Abstract
Singing provides a unique opportunity to examine music performance—the musical instrument is contained wholly within the body, thus eliminating the need for creating artificial instruments or tasks in neuroimaging experiments. Here, more than two decades of voice and singing research will be reviewed to give an overview of the sensory-motor control of the singing voice, starting from the vocal tract and leading up to the brain regions involved in singing. Additionally, to demonstrate how sensory feedback is integrated with vocal motor control, recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research on somatosensory and auditory feedback processing during singing will be presented. The relationship between the brain and singing behavior will be explored also by examining: (1) neuroplasticity as a function of various lengths and types of training, (2) vocal amusia due to a compromised singing network, and (3) singing performance in individuals with congenital amusia. Finally, the auditory-motor control network for singing will be considered alongside dual-stream models of auditory processing in music and speech to refine both these theoretical models and the singing network itself.
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Hage SR. Audio-vocal interactions during vocal communication in squirrel monkeys and their neurobiological implications. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2013; 199:663-8. [PMID: 23516002 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-013-0810-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2012] [Revised: 03/04/2013] [Accepted: 03/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Several strategies have evolved in the vertebrate lineage to facilitate signal transmission in vocal communication. Here, I present a mechanism to facilitate signal transmission in a group of communicating common squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus sciureus). Vocal onsets of a conspecific affect call initiation in all other members of the group in less than 100 ms. The probability of vocal onsets in a range of 100 ms after the beginning of a vocalization of another monkey was significantly decreased compared to the mean probability of call onsets. Additionally, the probability for vocal onsets of conspecifics was significantly increased just a few hundreds of milliseconds after call onset of others. These behavioral data suggest neural mechanisms that suppress vocal output just after the onset of environmental noise, such as vocalizations of conspecifics, and increase the probability of call initiation of group mates shortly after. These findings add new audio-vocal behaviors to the known strategies that modulate signal transmission in vocal communication. The present study will guide future neurobiological studies that explore how the observed audio-vocal behaviors are implemented in the monkey brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen R Hage
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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28
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Marom T, Flaksman H, Ben-David N, Dabby R, Gilad R, Oestreicher-Kedem Y, Roth Y. Isolated Myoclonus of the Vocal Folds. J Voice 2013; 27:95-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2012] [Accepted: 07/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Schöneich S, Hedwig B. Cellular basis for singing motor pattern generation in the field cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus DeGeer). Brain Behav 2012; 2:707-25. [PMID: 23170234 PMCID: PMC3500458 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.89] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2012] [Revised: 07/17/2012] [Accepted: 07/30/2012] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The singing behavior of male crickets allows analyzing a central pattern generator (CPG) that was shaped by sexual selection for reliable production of species-specific communication signals. After localizing the essential ganglia for singing in Gryllus bimaculatus, we now studied the calling song CPG at the cellular level. Fictive singing was initiated by pharmacological brain stimulation. The motor pattern underlying syllables and chirps was recorded as alternating spike bursts of wing-opener and wing-closer motoneurons in a truncated wing nerve; it precisely reflected the natural calling song. During fictive singing, we intracellularly recorded and stained interneurons in thoracic and abdominal ganglia and tested their impact on the song pattern by intracellular current injections. We identified three interneurons of the metathoracic and first unfused abdominal ganglion that rhythmically de- and hyperpolarized in phase with the syllable pattern and spiked strictly before the wing-opener motoneurons. Depolarizing current injection in two of these opener interneurons caused additional rhythmic singing activity, which reliably reset the ongoing chirp rhythm. The closely intermeshing arborizations of the singing interneurons revealed the dorsal midline neuropiles of the metathoracic and three most anterior abdominal neuromeres as the anatomical location of singing pattern generation. In the same neuropiles, we also recorded several closer interneurons that rhythmically hyper- and depolarized in the syllable rhythm and spiked strictly before the wing-closer motoneurons. Some of them received pronounced inhibition at the beginning of each chirp. Hyperpolarizing current injection in the dendrite revealed postinhibitory rebound depolarization as one functional mechanism of central pattern generation in singing crickets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Schöneich
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, U.K
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30
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Shared developmental and evolutionary origins for neural basis of vocal-acoustic and pectoral-gestural signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 109 Suppl 1:10677-84. [PMID: 22723366 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1201886109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Acoustic signaling behaviors are widespread among bony vertebrates, which include the majority of living fishes and tetrapods. Developmental studies in sound-producing fishes and tetrapods indicate that central pattern generating networks dedicated to vocalization originate from the same caudal hindbrain rhombomere (rh) 8-spinal compartment. Together, the evidence suggests that vocalization and its morphophysiological basis, including mechanisms of vocal-respiratory coupling that are widespread among tetrapods, are ancestral characters for bony vertebrates. Premotor-motor circuitry for pectoral appendages that function in locomotion and acoustic signaling develops in the same rh8-spinal compartment. Hence, vocal and pectoral phenotypes in fishes share both developmental origins and roles in acoustic communication. These findings lead to the proposal that the coupling of more highly derived vocal and pectoral mechanisms among tetrapods, including those adapted for nonvocal acoustic and gestural signaling, originated in fishes. Comparative studies further show that rh8 premotor populations have distinct neurophysiological properties coding for equally distinct behavioral attributes such as call duration. We conclude that neural network innovations in the spatiotemporal patterning of vocal and pectoral mechanisms of social communication, including forelimb gestural signaling, have their evolutionary origins in the caudal hindbrain of fishes.
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31
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Basken JN, Connor NP, Ciucci MR. Effect of aging on ultrasonic vocalizations and laryngeal sensorimotor neurons in rats. Exp Brain Res 2012; 219:351-61. [PMID: 22562586 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-012-3096-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2011] [Accepted: 04/12/2012] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
While decline in vocal quality is prevalent in an aging population, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms contributing to age-related dysphonia are unknown and difficult to study in humans. Development of an animal model appears critical for investigating this issue. Using an established aging rat model, we evaluated if 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations in 10, 32-month-old (old) Fischer 344/Brown Norway rats differed from those in 10, 9-month-old (young adult) rats. The retrograde tracer, Cholera Toxin β, was injected to the thyroarytenoid muscle to determine if motoneuron loss in the nucleus ambiguus was associated with age. Results indicated that older rats had vocalizations with diminished acoustic complexity as demonstrated by reduced bandwidth, intensity, and peak frequency, and these changes were dependent on the type of 50-kHz vocalization. Simple calls of old rats had reduced bandwidth, peak frequency, and intensity while frequency-modulated calls of old rats had reduced bandwidth and intensity. Surprisingly, one call type, step calls, had increased duration in the aged rats. These findings reflect phonatory changes observed in older humans. We also found significant motoneuron loss in the nucleus ambiguus of aged rats, which suggests that motoneuron loss may be a contributing factor to decreased complexity and quality of ultrasonic vocalizations. These findings suggest that a rat ultrasonic phonation model may be useful for studying age-related changes in vocalization observed in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime N Basken
- Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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32
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Herrero L, Pardoe J, Cerminara NL, Apps R. Spatial localization and projection densities of brainstem mossy fibre afferents to the forelimb C1 zone of the rat cerebellum. Eur J Neurosci 2012; 35:539-49. [PMID: 22304565 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2011.07977.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The present study uses a double retrograde tracer technique in rats to examine the spatial localization and pattern of axonal branching in mossy fibres arising from three major sources in the medulla-the external cuneate nucleus, the sensory trigeminal nucleus and the reticular formation, to two electrophysiologically-identified parts of the cerebellar cortex that are linked by common climbing fibre input - the forelimb-receiving parts of the C1 zone in lobulus simplex and the paramedian lobule. In each experiment a small injection of rhodamine-tagged beads was injected into one cortical region and an injection of fluorescein-tagged beads was injected into the other region. The main findings were: (i) the proportion of double-labelled cells in each of the three precerebeller sources of mossy fibres was positively correlated with those in the inferior olive; and (ii) the C1 zone in lobulus simplex was found to receive a greater density of projections from all three sources of mossy fibres than the C1 zone in the paramedian lobule. These data suggest that two rostrocaudally separated but somatotopically corresponding parts of the C1 zone receive common mossy fibre and climbing fibre inputs. However, the differences in projection densities also suggest that the two parts of the zone differ in the extent to which they receive mossy fibre signals arising from the same precerebellar nuclei. This implies differences in function between somatotopically corresponding parts of the same cortical zone, and could enable a higher degree of parallel processing and integration of information within them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Herrero
- School of Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical Sciences Building, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
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Chagnaud BP, Baker R, Bass AH. Vocalization frequency and duration are coded in separate hindbrain nuclei. Nat Commun 2011; 2:346. [PMID: 21673667 PMCID: PMC3166519 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2010] [Accepted: 05/11/2011] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Temporal patterning is an essential feature of neural networks producing precisely timed behaviours such as vocalizations that are widely used in vertebrate social communication. Here we show that intrinsic and network properties of separate hindbrain neuronal populations encode the natural call attributes of frequency and duration in vocal fish. Intracellular structure/function analyses indicate that call duration is encoded by a sustained membrane depolarization in vocal prepacemaker neurons that innervate downstream pacemaker neurons. Pacemaker neurons, in turn, encode call frequency by rhythmic, ultrafast oscillations in their membrane potential. Pharmacological manipulations show prepacemaker activity to be independent of pacemaker function, thus accounting for natural variation in duration which is the predominant feature distinguishing call types. Prepacemaker neurons also innervate key hindbrain auditory nuclei thereby effectively serving as a call-duration corollary discharge. We propose that premotor compartmentalization of neurons coding distinct acoustic attributes is a fundamental trait of hindbrain vocal pattern generators among vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris P Chagnaud
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
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Panksepp J. Emotional causes and consequences of social-affective vocalization. HANDBOOK OF BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-374593-4.00020-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Gruber-Dujardin E. Role of the periaqueductal gray in expressing vocalization. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-374593-4.00030-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
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Rubow TK, Bass AH. Reproductive and diurnal rhythms regulate vocal motor plasticity in a teleost fish. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009; 212:3252-62. [PMID: 19801430 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.032748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Seasonal and circadian rhythms control fundamental physiological processes including neural excitability and synaptic plasticity that can lead to the periodic modulation of motor behaviors like social vocalizations. Parental male midshipman fish produce three call types during the breeding season: long duration (min to >1 h) advertisement 'hums', frequency and amplitude modulated agonistic 'growls' (s), and very brief (ms) agonistic 'grunts' produced either singly or repetitively as ;grunt trains' for up to several minutes. Fictive grunts that establish the temporal properties of natural grunts are readily evoked and recorded in vivo from vocal occipital nerve roots at any time of day or year by electrical microstimulation in either the midbrain periaqueductal gray or a hindbrain vocal pre-pacemaker nucleus. Now, as shown here, the longer duration fictive growls and hums can also be elicited, but are restricted to the nocturnal reproductive season. A significant drop in call threshold accompanies the fictive growls and hums that are distinguished by their much longer duration and lower and more regular firing frequency. Lastly, the long duration fictive calls are dependent upon increased stimulation time and intensity and hence may result from activity-dependent changes in the vocal motor circuit that are themselves modulated by seasonal and circadian rhythms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tine K Rubow
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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Budinger E, Scheich H. Anatomical connections suitable for the direct processing of neuronal information of different modalities via the rodent primary auditory cortex. Hear Res 2009; 258:16-27. [DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2009.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2009] [Revised: 04/30/2009] [Accepted: 04/30/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Tressler J, Smotherman MS. Context-dependent effects of noise on echolocation pulse characteristics in free-tailed bats. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2009; 195:923-34. [PMID: 19672604 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-009-0468-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2009] [Revised: 07/22/2009] [Accepted: 07/24/2009] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Background noise evokes a similar suite of adaptations in the acoustic structure of communication calls across a diverse range of vertebrates. Echolocating bats may have evolved specialized vocal strategies for echolocating in noise, but also seem to exhibit generic vertebrate responses such as the ubiquitous Lombard response. We wondered how bats balance generic and echolocation-specific vocal responses to noise. To address this question, we first characterized the vocal responses of flying free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) to broadband noises varying in amplitude. Secondly, we measured the bats' responses to band-limited noises that varied in the extent of overlap with their echolocation pulse bandwidth. We hypothesized that the bats' generic responses to noise would be graded proportionally with noise amplitude, total bandwidth and frequency content, and consequently that more selective responses to band-limited noise such as the jamming avoidance response could be explained by a linear decomposition of the response to broadband noise. Instead, the results showed that both the nature and the magnitude of the vocal responses varied with the acoustic structure of the outgoing pulse as well as non-linearly with noise parameters. We conclude that free-tailed bats utilize separate generic and specialized vocal responses to noise in a context-dependent fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jedediah Tressler
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-3258, USA.
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Ludlow CL, Adler CH, Berke GS, Bielamowicz SA, Blitzer A, Bressman SB, Hallett M, Jinnah HA, Juergens U, Martin SB, Perlmutter JS, Sapienza C, Singleton A, Tanner CM, Woodson GE. Research priorities in spasmodic dysphonia. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2008; 139:495-505. [PMID: 18922334 DOI: 10.1016/j.otohns.2008.05.624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2007] [Revised: 05/02/2008] [Accepted: 05/28/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To identify research priorities to increase understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and improved treatment of spasmodic dysphonia. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING A multidisciplinary working group was formed that included both scientists and clinicians from multiple disciplines (otolaryngology, neurology, speech pathology, genetics, and neuroscience) to review currently available information on spasmodic dysphonia and to identify research priorities. RESULTS Operational definitions for spasmodic dysphonia at different levels of certainty were recommended for diagnosis and recommendations made for a multicenter multidisciplinary validation study. CONCLUSIONS The highest priority is to characterize the disorder and identify risk factors that may contribute to its onset. Future research should compare and contrast spasmodic dysphonia with other forms of focal dystonia. Development of animal models is recommended to explore hypotheses related to pathogenesis. Improved understanding of the pathophysiology of spasmodic dysphonia should provide the basis for developing new treatment options and exploratory clinical trials. SIGNIFICANCE This document should foster future research to improve the care of patients with this chronic debilitating voice and speech disorder by otolaryngology, neurology, and speech pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christy L Ludlow
- Laryngeal and Speech Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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Current World Literature. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2008; 16:292-5. [DOI: 10.1097/moo.0b013e3283041256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Bass AH, Remage-Healey L. Central pattern generators for social vocalization: androgen-dependent neurophysiological mechanisms. Horm Behav 2008; 53:659-72. [PMID: 18262186 PMCID: PMC2570494 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2007] [Revised: 12/04/2007] [Accepted: 12/10/2007] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Historically, most studies of vertebrate central pattern generators (CPGs) have focused on mechanisms for locomotion and respiration. Here, we highlight new results for ectothermic vertebrates, namely teleost fish and amphibians, showing how androgenic steroids can influence the temporal patterning of CPGs for social vocalization. Investigations of vocalizing teleosts show how androgens can rapidly (within minutes) modulate the neurophysiological output of the vocal CPG (fictive vocalizations that mimic the temporal properties of natural vocalizations) inclusive of their divergent actions between species, as well as intraspecific differences between male reproductive morphs. Studies of anuran amphibians (frogs) demonstrate that long-term steroid treatments (wks) can masculinize the fictive vocalizations of females, inclusive of its sensitivity to rapid modulation by serotonin. Given the conserved organization of vocal control systems across vertebrate groups, the vocal CPGs of fish and amphibians provide tractable models for identifying androgen-dependent events that are fundamental to the mechanisms of vocal motor patterning. These basic mechanisms can also inform our understanding of the more complex CPGs for vocalization, and social behaviors in general, that have evolved among birds and mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew H Bass
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
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