1
|
Loning H, Griffith SC, Naguib M. The ecology of zebra finch song and its implications for vocal communication in multi-level societies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230191. [PMID: 38768203 PMCID: PMC11391294 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Acoustic signalling is crucial in affecting movements and in social interactions. In species with dynamic social structures, such as multi-level societies, acoustic signals can provide a key mechanism allowing individuals to identify and find or avoid each other and to exchange information. Yet, if the spacing between individuals regularly exceeds the maximum signalling range, the relation between movements and signals becomes more complex. As the best-studied songbird in captivity, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia castanotis) is a species with individually distinct songs that are audible over just a few metres and a widely ranging dynamic multi-level social organization in the wild, raising questions on the actual role of its song in social cohesion and coordination. Here, we provide an overview of birdsong in social organizations (networks) and use the ecology of the zebra finch and male song to discuss how singing can facilitate social cohesion and coordination in species where the signal range is very short. We raise the question of the extent to which zebra finches are a representative species to understand the function of song in communication, and we broaden current views on the function of birdsong and its individual signature. This article is part of the theme issue 'The power of sound: unravelling how acoustic communication shapes group dynamics'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Loning
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research , 6708 WD, The Netherlands
| | - Simon C Griffith
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University , Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
- School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales , Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Marc Naguib
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research , 6708 WD, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Mizuguchi D, Sánchez-Valpuesta M, Kim Y, Dos Santos EB, Kang H, Mori C, Wada K, Kojima S. Daily singing of adult songbirds functions to maintain song performance independently of auditory feedback and age. Commun Biol 2024; 7:598. [PMID: 38762691 PMCID: PMC11102546 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06311-5] [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: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Many songbirds learn to produce songs through vocal practice in early life and continue to sing daily throughout their lifetime. While it is well-known that adult songbirds sing as part of their mating rituals, the functions of singing behavior outside of reproductive contexts remain unclear. Here, we investigated this issue in adult male zebra finches by suppressing their daily singing for two weeks and examining the effects on song performance. We found that singing suppression decreased the pitch, amplitude, and duration of songs, and that those song features substantially recovered through subsequent free singing. These reversible song changes were not dependent on auditory feedback or the age of the birds, contrasting with the adult song plasticity that has been reported previously. These results demonstrate that adult song structure is not stable without daily singing, and suggest that adult songbirds maintain song performance by preventing song changes through physical act of daily singing throughout their life. Such daily singing likely functions as vocal training to maintain the song production system in optimal conditions for song performance in reproductive contexts, similar to how human singers and athletes practice daily to maintain their performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daisuke Mizuguchi
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Miguel Sánchez-Valpuesta
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Yunbok Kim
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - Ednei B Dos Santos
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
| | - HiJee Kang
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Chihiro Mori
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 153-0041, Japan
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Life and Health Sciences, Teikyo University, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan
| | - Kazuhiro Wada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
| | - Satoshi Kojima
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, 41062, Republic of Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Vogt K, Kulkarni A, Pandey R, Dehnad M, Konopka G, Greene R. Sleep need driven oscillation of glutamate synaptic phenotype. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.05.578985. [PMID: 38370691 PMCID: PMC10871195 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.05.578985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Sleep loss increases AMPA-synaptic strength and number in the neocortex. However, this is only part of the synaptic sleep loss response. We report increased AMPA/NMDA EPSC ratio in frontal-cortical pyramidal neurons of layers 2-3. Silent synapses are absent, decreasing the plastic potential to convert silent NMDA to active AMPA synapses. These sleep loss changes are recovered by sleep. Sleep genes are enriched for synaptic shaping cellular components controlling glutamate synapse phenotype, overlap with autism risk genes and are primarily observed in excitatory pyramidal neurons projecting intra-telencephalically. These genes are enriched with genes controlled by the transcription factor, MEF2c and its repressor, HDAC4. Thus, sleep genes under the influence of MEF2c and HDAC4, can provide a framework within which motor learning and training occurs mediated by sleep-dependent oscillation of glutamate-synaptic phenotypes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- K.E. Vogt
- International Institute of Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - A. Kulkarni
- Department of Neuroscience, Peter O’Donnell Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| | - R. Pandey
- Department of Psychiatry, Peter O’Donnell Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| | - M. Dehnad
- Department of Psychiatry, Peter O’Donnell Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| | - G. Konopka
- Department of Neuroscience, Peter O’Donnell Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| | - R.W. Greene
- International Institute of Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- Department of Neuroscience, Peter O’Donnell Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Peter O’Donnell Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, United States
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Döppler JF, Atencio M, Amador A, Mindlin GB. Synthesizing avian dreams. CHAOS (WOODBURY, N.Y.) 2024; 34:043103. [PMID: 38558050 DOI: 10.1063/5.0194301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
During sleep, sporadically, it is possible to find neural patterns of activity in areas of the avian brain that are activated during the generation of the song. It has recently been found that in the vocal muscles of a sleeping bird, it is possible to detect activity patterns during these silent replays. In this work, we employ a dynamical systems model for song production in suboscine birds in order to translate the vocal muscles activity during sleep into synthetic songs. Besides allowing us to translate muscle activity into behavior, we argue that this approach poses the biomechanics as a unique window into the avian brain, with biophysical models as its probe.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juan F Döppler
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
- INFINA, CONICET, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
| | - Melina Atencio
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución & IEGEBA-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
| | - Ana Amador
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
- INFINA, CONICET, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
| | - Gabriel B Mindlin
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
- INFINA, CONICET, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
- Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid 28008, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Elmaleh M, Yang Z, Ackert-Smith LA, Long MA. Uncoordinated sleep replay across hemispheres in the zebra finch. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4704-4712.e3. [PMID: 37757833 PMCID: PMC10842454 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.005] [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: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Bilaterally organized brain regions are often simultaneously active in both humans1,2,3 and animal models,4,5,6,7,8,9 but the extent to which the temporal progression of internally generated dynamics is coordinated across hemispheres and how this coordination changes with brain state remain poorly understood. To address these issues, we investigated the zebra finch courtship song (duration: 0.5-1.0 s), a highly stereotyped complex behavior10,11 produced by a set of bilaterally organized nuclei.12,13,14 Unilateral lesions to these structures can eliminate or degrade singing,13,15,16,17 indicating that both hemispheres are required for song production.18 Additionally, previous work demonstrated broadly coherent and symmetric bilateral premotor signals during song.9 To precisely track the temporal evolution of activity in each hemisphere, we recorded bilaterally in the song production pathway. We targeted the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) in the zebra finch, where population activity reflects the moment-to-moment progression of the courtship song during awake vocalizations19,20,21,22,23,24 and sleep, where song-related network dynamics reemerge in "replay" events.24,25 We found that activity in the left and right RA is synchronized within a fraction of a millisecond throughout song. In stark contrast, the two hemispheres displayed largely independent replay activity during sleep, despite shared interhemispheric arousal levels. These findings demonstrate that the degree of bilateral coordination in the zebra finch song system is dynamically modulated by behavioral state.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Margot Elmaleh
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Zetian Yang
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Lyn A Ackert-Smith
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Michael A Long
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Boerma T, Ter Haar S, Ganga R, Wijnen F, Blom E, Wierenga CJ. What risk factors for Developmental Language Disorder can tell us about the neurobiological mechanisms of language development. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 154:105398. [PMID: 37741516 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105398] [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: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Language is a complex multidimensional cognitive system that is connected to many neurocognitive capacities. The development of language is therefore strongly intertwined with the development of these capacities and their neurobiological substrates. Consequently, language problems, for example those of children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), are explained by a variety of etiological pathways and each of these pathways will be associated with specific risk factors. In this review, we attempt to link previously described factors that may interfere with language development to putative underlying neurobiological mechanisms of language development, hoping to uncover openings for future therapeutical approaches or interventions that can help children to optimally develop their language skills.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tessel Boerma
- Institute for Language Sciences, Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Sita Ter Haar
- Institute for Language Sciences, Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Cognitive Neurobiology and Helmholtz Institute, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University/Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Rachida Ganga
- Institute for Language Sciences, Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Frank Wijnen
- Institute for Language Sciences, Department of Languages, Literature and Communication, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Elma Blom
- Department of Development and Education of youth in Diverse Societies (DEEDS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Language and Culture, The Arctic University of Norway UiT, Tromsø, Norway.
| | - Corette J Wierenga
- Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, the Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
James LS, Wang AS, Bertolo M, Sakata JT. Learning to pause: Fidelity of and biases in the developmental acquisition of gaps in the communicative signals of a songbird. Dev Sci 2023; 26:e13382. [PMID: 36861437 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13382] [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: 05/28/2022] [Revised: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
The temporal organization of sounds used in social contexts can provide information about signal function and evoke varying responses in listeners (receivers). For example, music is a universal and learned human behavior that is characterized by different rhythms and tempos that can evoke disparate responses in listeners. Similarly, birdsong is a social behavior in songbirds that is learned during critical periods in development and used to evoke physiological and behavioral responses in receivers. Recent investigations have begun to reveal the breadth of universal patterns in birdsong and their similarities to common patterns in speech and music, but relatively little is known about the degree to which biological predispositions and developmental experiences interact to shape the temporal patterning of birdsong. Here, we investigated how biological predispositions modulate the acquisition and production of an important temporal feature of birdsong, namely the duration of silent pauses ("gaps") between vocal elements ("syllables"). Through analyses of semi-naturally raised and experimentally tutored zebra finches, we observed that juvenile zebra finches imitate the durations of the silent gaps in their tutor's song. Further, when juveniles were experimentally tutored with stimuli containing a wide range of gap durations, we observed biases in the prevalence and stereotypy of gap durations. Together, these studies demonstrate how biological predispositions and developmental experiences differently affect distinct temporal features of birdsong and highlight similarities in developmental plasticity across birdsong, speech, and music. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The temporal organization of learned acoustic patterns can be similar across human cultures and across species, suggesting biological predispositions in acquisition. We studied how biological predispositions and developmental experiences affect an important temporal feature of birdsong, namely the duration of silent intervals between vocal elements ("gaps"). Semi-naturally and experimentally tutored zebra finches imitated the durations of gaps in their tutor's song and displayed some biases in the learning and production of gap durations and in gap variability. These findings in the zebra finch provide parallels with the acquisition of temporal features of speech and music in humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Logan S James
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Angela S Wang
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Mila Bertolo
- Centre for Research in Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jon T Sakata
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre for Research in Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Yeganegi H, Ondracek JM. Multi-channel recordings reveal age-related differences in the sleep of juvenile and adult zebra finches. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8607. [PMID: 37244927 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35160-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite their phylogenetic differences and distinct pallial structures, mammals and birds show similar electroencephalography (EEG) traces during sleep, consisting of distinct rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and slow wave sleep (SWS) stages. Studies in human and a limited number of other mammalian species show that this organization of sleep into interleaving stages undergoes radical changes during lifetime. Do these age-dependent variations in sleep patterns also occur in the avian brain? Does vocal learning have an effect on sleep patterns in birds? To answer these questions, we recorded multi-channel sleep EEG from juvenile and adult zebra finches for several nights. Whereas adults spent more time in SWS and REM sleep, juveniles spent more time in intermediate sleep (IS). The amount of IS was significantly larger in male juveniles engaged in vocal learning compared to female juveniles, which suggests that IS could be important for vocal learning. In addition, we observed that functional connectivity increased rapidly during maturation of young juveniles, and was stable or declined at older ages. Synchronous activity during sleep was larger for recording sites in the left hemisphere for both juveniles and adults, and generally intra-hemispheric synchrony was larger than inter-hemispheric synchrony during sleep. A graph theory analysis revealed that in adults, highly correlated EEG activity tended to be distributed across fewer networks that were spread across a wider area of the brain, whereas in juveniles, highly correlated EEG activity was distributed across more numerous, albeit smaller, networks in the brain. Overall, our results reveal that significant changes occur in the neural signatures of sleep during maturation in an avian brain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hamed Yeganegi
- Technical University of Munich, Liesel-Beckmann-Str. 4, 85354, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152, Planegg, Germany
| | - Janie M Ondracek
- Technical University of Munich, Liesel-Beckmann-Str. 4, 85354, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Brudner S, Pearson J, Mooney R. Generative models of birdsong learning link circadian fluctuations in song variability to changes in performance. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011051. [PMID: 37126511 PMCID: PMC10150982 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011051] [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: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Learning skilled behaviors requires intensive practice over days, months, or years. Behavioral hallmarks of practice include exploratory variation and long-term improvements, both of which can be impacted by circadian processes. During weeks of vocal practice, the juvenile male zebra finch transforms highly variable and simple song into a stable and precise copy of an adult tutor's complex song. Song variability and performance in juvenile finches also exhibit circadian structure that could influence this long-term learning process. In fact, one influential study reported juvenile song regresses towards immature performance overnight, while another suggested a more complex pattern of overnight change. However, neither of these studies thoroughly examined how circadian patterns of variability may structure the production of more or less mature songs. Here we relate the circadian dynamics of song maturation to circadian patterns of song variation, leveraging a combination of data-driven approaches. In particular we analyze juvenile singing in learned feature space that supports both data-driven measures of song maturity and generative developmental models of song production. These models reveal that circadian fluctuations in variability lead to especially regressive morning variants even without overall overnight regression, and highlight the utility of data-driven generative models for untangling these contributions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Brudner
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - John Pearson
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Richard Mooney
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Rodríguez-Saltos CA, Bhise A, Karur P, Khan RN, Lee S, Ramsay G, Maney DL. Song preferences predict the quality of vocal learning in zebra finches. Sci Rep 2023; 13:605. [PMID: 36635470 PMCID: PMC9837092 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-27708-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
In songbirds, learning to sing is a highly social process that likely involves social reward. Here, we tested the hypothesis that during song learning, the reward value of hearing a particular song predicts the degree to which that song will ultimately be learned. We measured the early song preferences of young male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in an operant key-pressing assay; each of two keys was associated with a higher likelihood of playing the song of the father or that of another familiar adult ("neighbor"). To minimize the effects of exposure on learning, we implemented a novel reinforcement schedule that allowed us to detect preferences while balancing exposure to each song. On average, the juveniles significantly preferred the father's song early during song learning, before actual singing occurs in this species. When they reached adulthood, all the birds copied the father's song. The accuracy with which the father's song was imitated was positively correlated with the peak strength of the preference for the father's song during the sensitive period of song learning. Our results show that preference for the song of a chosen tutor, in this case the father, predicted vocal learning during development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Aditya Bhise
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Prasanna Karur
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Ramsha Nabihah Khan
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Sumin Lee
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Gordon Ramsay
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Donna L Maney
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Hanron O, Mason GM, Holmes JF, Spencer RMC. Early childhood naps initiate emotional memory processing in preparation for enhanced overnight consolidation. Child Dev 2023; 94:721-733. [PMID: 36593656 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Early childhood naps support emotional memory, but benefits are only observed after overnight sleep. Whether emotional memory consolidation occurs during naps, or whether napping only prepares memories for overnight consolidation is unknown. We investigated whether naps protect emotional memories from interference, indicating consolidation. Between 2018 and 2020, 63 children in western Massachusetts preschools (30 female, 33 male; 33-67 months; 23.8% Hispanic, 87.3% White) learned faces paired with negative or neutral descriptions, followed by nap or wake. Before delayed recognition, half completed an interference task. Without interference, napping benefited recognition. With interference, children recognized fewer negative faces post-nap (compared to wake), with overnight sleep attenuating this difference. Results suggest that naps initially destabilize emotional memories, possibly reflecting partial processing that promotes long-term consolidation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Hanron
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.,Commonwealth Honors College, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Gina M Mason
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.,Neuroscience & Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jennifer F Holmes
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Rebecca M C Spencer
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.,Neuroscience & Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.,Institute of Applied Life Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Miyamoto D. Neural circuit plasticity for complex non-declarative sensorimotor memory consolidation during sleep. Neurosci Res 2022; 189:37-43. [PMID: 36584925 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2022.12.020] [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: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Evidence is accumulating that the brain actively consolidates long-term memory during sleep. Motor skill memory is a form of non-declarative procedural memory and can be coordinated with multi-sensory processing such as visual, tactile, and, auditory. Conversely, perception is affected by body movement signal from motor brain regions. Although both cortical and subcortical brain regions are involved in memory consolidation, cerebral cortex activity can be recorded and manipulated noninvasively or minimally invasively in humans and animals. NREM sleep, which is important for non-declarative memory consolidation, is characterized by slow and spindle waves representing thalamo-cortical population activity. In animals, electrophysiological recording, optical imaging, and manipulation approaches have revealed multi-scale cortical dynamics across learning and sleep. In the sleeping cortex, neural activity is affected by prior learning and neural circuits are continually reorganized. Here I outline how sensorimotor coordination is formed through awake learning and subsequent sleep.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daisuke Miyamoto
- Laboratory for Sleeping-Brain Dynamics, Research Center for Idling Brain Science, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan; Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Abstract
Have your ever felt as happy as a lark, feathered your nest or taken someone under your wing? As we watch birds, we cannot help but be struck by their uncannily familiar behaviors - singing, nest building, caring for their young - to name just a few. Songbirds - the oscine suborder of perching birds that constitute roughly half (∼4,000) of all known avian species - are noted for the songs that males and sometimes both sexes in this group sing to court mates and defend territory from rivals. Birdsongs contain several to many acoustically distinct syllables, typically organized into a stereotyped phrase, and span the same audio bandwidth that we exploit for speech and music, making them easy for us to hear and appreciate. Consequently, eavesdropping humans long ago detected the most striking parallel between songbirds and humans: juvenile songbirds learn to sing in a manner similar to a child learning to speak.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard Mooney
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Blumberg MS, Dooley JC, Tiriac A. Sleep, plasticity, and sensory neurodevelopment. Neuron 2022; 110:3230-3242. [PMID: 36084653 PMCID: PMC9588561 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
A defining feature of early infancy is the immense neural plasticity that enables animals to develop a brain that is functionally integrated with a growing body. Early infancy is also defined as a period dominated by sleep. Here, we describe three conceptual frameworks that vary in terms of whether and how they incorporate sleep as a factor in the activity-dependent development of sensory and sensorimotor systems. The most widely accepted framework is exemplified by the visual system where retinal waves seemingly occur independent of sleep-wake states. An alternative framework is exemplified by the sensorimotor system where sensory feedback from sleep-specific movements activates the brain. We prefer a third framework that encompasses the first two but also captures the diverse ways in which sleep modulates activity-dependent development throughout the nervous system. Appreciation of the third framework will spur progress toward a more comprehensive and cohesive understanding of both typical and atypical neurodevelopment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark S Blumberg
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
| | - James C Dooley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
| | - Alexandre Tiriac
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Gaviraghi Mussoi J, Stanley MC, Cain KE. Importance of sleep for avian vocal communication. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220223. [PMID: 35975628 PMCID: PMC9382451 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sleep is one of the few truly ubiquitous animal behaviours, and though many animals spend enormous periods of time asleep, we have only begun to understand the consequences of sleep disturbances. In humans, sleep is crucial for effective communication. Birds are classic models for understanding the evolution and mechanisms of human language and speech. Bird vocalizations are remarkably diverse, critical, fitness-related behaviours, and the way sleep affects vocalizations is likely similarly varied. However, research on the effects of sleep disturbances on avian vocalizations is shockingly scarce. Consequently, there is a critical gap in our understanding of the extent to which sleep disturbances disrupt communication. Here, we argue that sleep disturbances are likely to affect all birds' vocal performance by interfering with motivation, memory consolidation and vocal maintenance. Further, we suggest that quality sleep is likely essential when learning new vocalizations and that sleep disturbances will have especially strong effects on learned vocalizations. Finally, we advocate for future research to address gaps in our understanding of how sleep influences vocal learning and performance in birds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Margaret C Stanley
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Kristal E Cain
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Kim Y, Mori C, Kojima S. Effect of Darkness on Intrinsic Motivation for Undirected Singing in Bengalese Finch (Lonchura striata Domestica): A Comparative Study With Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Front Physiol 2022; 13:884404. [PMID: 35694395 PMCID: PMC9174599 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.884404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The zebra finch (ZF) and the Bengalese finch (BF) are animal models that have been commonly used for neurobiological studies on vocal learning. Although they largely share the brain structure for vocal learning and production, BFs produce more complex and variable songs than ZFs, providing a great opportunity for comparative studies to understand how animals learn and control complex motor behaviors. Here, we performed a comparative study between the two species by focusing on intrinsic motivation for non-courtship singing (“undirected singing”), which is critical for the development and maintenance of song structure. A previous study has demonstrated that ZFs dramatically increase intrinsic motivation for undirected singing when singing is temporarily suppressed by a dark environment. We found that the same procedure in BFs induced the enhancement of intrinsic singing motivation to much smaller degrees than that in ZFs. Moreover, unlike ZFs that rarely sing in dark conditions, substantial portion of BFs exhibited frequent singing in darkness, implying that such “dark singing” may attenuate the enhancement of intrinsic singing motivation during dark periods. In addition, measurements of blood corticosterone levels in dark and light conditions provided evidence that although BFs have lower stress levels than ZFs in dark conditions, such lower stress levels in BFs are not the major factor responsible for their frequent dark singing. Our findings highlight behavioral and physiological differences in spontaneous singing behaviors of BFs and ZFs and provide new insights into the interactions between singing motivation, ambient light, and environmental stress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yunbok Kim
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, South Korea
| | - Chihiro Mori
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Satoshi Kojima
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, South Korea
- *Correspondence: Satoshi Kojima,
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Medina CA, Vargas E, Munger SJ, Miller JE. Vocal changes in a zebra finch model of Parkinson's disease characterized by alpha-synuclein overexpression in the song-dedicated anterior forebrain pathway. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0265604. [PMID: 35507553 PMCID: PMC9067653 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Deterioration in the quality of a person's voice and speech is an early marker of Parkinson's disease (PD). In humans, the neural circuit that supports vocal motor control consists of a cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortico loop. The basal ganglia regions, striatum and globus pallidus, in this loop play a role in modulating the acoustic features of vocal behavior such as loudness, pitch, and articulatory rate. In PD, this area is implicated in pathogenesis. In animal models of PD, the accumulation of toxic aggregates containing the neuronal protein alpha-synuclein (αsyn) in the midbrain and striatum result in limb and vocal motor impairments. It has been challenging to study vocal impairments given the lack of well-defined cortico-basal ganglia circuitry for vocalization in rodent models. Furthermore, whether deterioration of voice quality early in PD is a direct result of αsyn-induced neuropathology is not yet known. Here, we take advantage of the well-characterized vocal circuits of the adult male zebra finch songbird to experimentally target a song-dedicated pathway, the anterior forebrain pathway, using an adeno-associated virus expressing the human wild-type αsyn gene, SNCA. We found that overexpression of αsyn in this pathway coincides with higher levels of insoluble, monomeric αsyn compared to control finches. Impairments in song production were also detected along with shorter and poorer quality syllables, which are the most basic unit of song. These vocal changes are similar to the vocal abnormalities observed in individuals with PD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cesar A. Medina
- Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United State of America
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Eddie Vargas
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Stephanie J. Munger
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Julie E. Miller
- Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United State of America
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
- BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Bottjer SW, Le Moing C, Li E, Yuan R. Responses to Song Playback Differ in Sleeping versus Anesthetized Songbirds. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0015-22.2022. [PMID: 35545423 PMCID: PMC9131720 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0015-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Vocal learning in songbirds is mediated by a highly localized system of interconnected forebrain regions, including recurrent loops that traverse the cortex, basal ganglia, and thalamus. This brain-behavior system provides a powerful model for elucidating mechanisms of vocal learning, with implications for learning speech in human infants, as well as for advancing our understanding of skill learning in general. A long history of experiments in this area has tested neural responses to playback of different song stimuli in anesthetized birds at different stages of vocal development. These studies have demonstrated selectivity for different song types that provide neural signatures of learning. In contrast to the ease of obtaining responses to song playback in anesthetized birds, song-evoked responses in awake birds are greatly reduced or absent, indicating that behavioral state is an important determinant of neural responsivity. Song-evoked responses can be elicited during sleep as well as anesthesia, and the selectivity of responses to song playback in adult birds is highly similar between anesthetized and sleeping states, encouraging the idea that anesthesia and sleep are similar. In contrast to that idea, we report evidence that cortical responses to song playback in juvenile zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) differ greatly between sleep and urethane anesthesia. This finding indicates that behavioral states differ in sleep versus anesthesia and raises questions about relationships between developmental changes in sleep activity, selectivity for different song types, and the neural substrate for vocal learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah W Bottjer
- Section of Neurobiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
| | - Chloé Le Moing
- Section of Neurobiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
| | - Ellysia Li
- Section of Neurobiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
| | - Rachel Yuan
- Section of Neurobiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Johnsson RD, Connelly F, Gaviraghi Mussoi J, Vyssotski AL, Cain KE, Roth TC, Lesku JA. Sleep loss impairs cognitive performance and alters song output in Australian magpies. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6645. [PMID: 35459249 PMCID: PMC9033856 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10162-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Sleep maintains optimal brain functioning to facilitate behavioural flexibility while awake. Owing to a historical bias towards research on mammals, we know comparatively little about the role of sleep in facilitating the cognitive abilities of birds. We investigated how sleep deprivation over the full-night (12 h) or half-night (6 h) affects cognitive performance in adult Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen), relative to that after a night of undisturbed sleep. Each condition was preceded and followed by a baseline and recovery night of sleep, respectively. Prior to each treatment, birds were trained on an associative learning task; on the day after experimental treatment (recovery day), birds were tested on a reversal learning task. To glean whether sleep loss affected song output, we also conducted impromptu song recordings for three days. Ultimately, sleep-deprived magpies were slower to attempt the reversal learning task, less likely to perform and complete the task, and those that did the test performed worse than better-rested birds. We also found that sleep-deprived magpies sang longer yet fewer songs, shifted crepuscular singing to mid-day, and during the post-recovery day, song frequency bandwidth narrowed. These results collectively indicate that sleep loss impairs motivation and cognitive performance, and alters song output, in a social adult songbird.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robin D Johnsson
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Farley Connelly
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.,School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | | | - Kristal E Cain
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Timothy C Roth
- Department of Psychology, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, USA
| | - John A Lesku
- School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Araguas A, Guellaï B, Gauthier P, Richer F, Montone G, Chopin A, Derégnaucourt S. Design of a robotic zebra finch for experimental studies on developmental song learning. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274312. [PMID: 35048975 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Birdsong learning has been consolidated as the model system of choice for exploring the biological substrates of vocal learning. In the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata), only males sing and they develop their song during a sensitive period in early life. Different experimental procedures have been used in the laboratory to train a young finch to learn a song. So far, the best method to get a faithful imitation is to keep a young bird singly with an adult male. Here we present the different characteristics of a robotic zebra finch that was developed with the goal to be used as a song tutor. The robot is morphologically similar to a real-size finch: it can produce movements and sounds contingently to the behaviours of a live bird. We present preliminary results on song imitation, and other possible applications beyond the scope of developmental song learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alice Araguas
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, Université Paris Nanterre, Université Paris Lumières, Nanterre, France
| | - Bahia Guellaï
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, Université Paris Nanterre, Université Paris Lumières, Nanterre, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, CNRS UMR 7222, Sorbonne Université, France
| | - Philippe Gauthier
- Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique, CNRS UMR 7222, Sorbonne Université, France
| | - Florian Richer
- Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique, CNRS UMR 7222, Sorbonne Université, France
| | - Guglielmo Montone
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, CNRS UMR 8242, Université Paris Descartes, France
| | - Adrien Chopin
- Sorbonne Université, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France
| | - Sébastien Derégnaucourt
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, Université Paris Nanterre, Université Paris Lumières, Nanterre, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, CNRS UMR 7222, Sorbonne Université, France
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Elmaleh M, Kranz D, Asensio AC, Moll FW, Long MA. Sleep replay reveals premotor circuit structure for a skilled behavior. Neuron 2021; 109:3851-3861.e4. [PMID: 34626537 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.09.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Neural circuits often exhibit sequences of activity, but the contribution of local networks to their generation remains unclear. In the zebra finch, song-related premotor sequences within HVC may result from some combination of local connectivity and long-range thalamic inputs from nucleus uvaeformis (Uva). Because lesions to either structure abolish song, we examine "sleep replay" using high-density recording methods to reconstruct precise song-related events. Replay activity persists after the upstream nucleus interfacialis of the nidopallium is lesioned and slows when HVC is cooled, demonstrating that HVC provides temporal structure for these events. To further gauge the importance of intra-HVC connectivity for shaping network dynamics, we lesion Uva during sleep and find that residual replay sequences could span syllable boundaries, supporting a model in which HVC can propagate sequences throughout the duration of the song. Our results highlight the power of studying offline activity to investigate behaviorally relevant circuit organization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Margot Elmaleh
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Devorah Kranz
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Ariadna Corredera Asensio
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Felix W Moll
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Michael A Long
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Kim Y, Kwon S, Rajan R, Mori C, Kojima S. Intrinsic motivation for singing in songbirds is enhanced by temporary singing suppression and regulated by dopamine. Sci Rep 2021; 11:20350. [PMID: 34645903 PMCID: PMC8514548 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99456-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Behaviors driven by intrinsic motivation are critical for development and optimization of physical and brain functions, but their underlying mechanisms are not well studied due to the complexity and autonomy of the behavior. Songbirds, such as zebra finches, offer a unique opportunity to study neural substrates of intrinsic motivation because they spontaneously produce many renditions of songs with highly-quantifiable structure for vocal practice, even in the absence of apparent recipients (“undirected singing”). Neural substrates underlying intrinsic motivation for undirected singing are still poorly understood partly because singing motivation cannot be easily manipulated due to its autonomy. Also, undirected singing itself acts as an internal reward, which could increase singing motivation, leading to difficulty in measuring singing motivation independent of singing-associated reward. Here, we report a simple procedure to easily manipulate and quantify intrinsic motivation for undirected singing independent of singing-associated reward. We demonstrate that intrinsic motivation for undirected singing is dramatically enhanced by temporary suppression of singing behavior and the degree of enhancement depends on the duration of suppression. Moreover, by examining latencies to the first song following singing suppression as a measure of singing motivation independent of singing-associated reward, we demonstrate that intrinsic singing motivation is critically regulated by dopamine through D2 receptors. These results provide a simple experimental tool to manipulate and measure the intrinsic motivation for undirected singing and illustrate the importance of zebra finches as a model system to study the neural basis of intrinsically-motivated behaviors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yunbok Kim
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, 61, Cheomdan-ro, Dong-gu, Daegu, 41068, South Korea
| | - Sojeong Kwon
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, 61, Cheomdan-ro, Dong-gu, Daegu, 41068, South Korea
| | - Raghav Rajan
- Division of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune, Pune, Maharashtra, India
| | - Chihiro Mori
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Satoshi Kojima
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, 61, Cheomdan-ro, Dong-gu, Daegu, 41068, South Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Johnsson RD, Connelly F, Vyssotski AL, Roth TC, Lesku JA. Homeostatic regulation of NREM sleep, but not REM sleep, in Australian magpies. Sleep 2021; 45:6357668. [PMID: 34432054 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsab218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVES We explore NREM and REM sleep homeostasis in Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen tyrannica). We predicted that magpies would recover lost sleep by spending more time in NREM and REM sleep, and by engaging in more intense NREM sleep as indicated by increased slow-wave activity (SWA). METHODS Continuous 72-h recordings of EEG, EMG and tri-axial accelerometry, along with EEG spectral analyses, were performed on wild-caught Australian magpies housed in indoor aviaries. Australian magpies were subjected to two protocols of night-time sleep deprivation: full 12-h night (n = 8) and first 6-h half of the night (n = 5), which were preceded by a 36-h baseline recording and followed by a 24-h recovery period. RESULTS Australian magpies recovered lost NREM sleep by sleeping more, with increased NREM sleep consolidation, and increased SWA during recovery sleep. Following 12-h of night-time sleep loss, magpies also showed reduced SWA the following night after napping more during the recovery day. Surprisingly, the magpies did not recover any lost REM sleep. CONCLUSIONS Only NREM sleep is homeostatically regulated in Australian magpies with the level of SWA reflecting prior sleep/wake history. The significance of emerging patterns on the apparent absence of REM sleep homeostasis, now observed in multiple species, remains unclear.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robin D Johnsson
- La Trobe University, School of Life Sciences, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Farley Connelly
- La Trobe University, School of Life Sciences, Melbourne, Australia.,The University of Melbourne, School of BioSciences, Melbourne, Australia
| | | | - Timothy C Roth
- Franklin and Marshall College, Department of Psychology, Lancaster, USA
| | - John A Lesku
- La Trobe University, School of Life Sciences, Melbourne, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Döppler JF, Peltier M, Amador A, Goller F, Mindlin GB. Replay of innate vocal patterns during night sleep in suboscines. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210610. [PMID: 34187198 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Activation of forebrain circuitry during sleep has been variably characterized as 'pre- or replay' and has been linked to memory consolidation. The evolutionary origins of this mechanism, however, are unknown. Sleep activation of the sensorimotor pathways of learned birdsong is a particularly useful model system because the muscles controlling the vocal organ are activated, revealing syringeal activity patterns for direct comparison with those of daytime vocal activity. Here, we show that suboscine birds, which develop their species-typical songs innately without the elaborate forebrain-thalamic circuitry of the vocal learning taxa, also engage in replay during sleep. In two tyrannid species, the characteristic syringeal activation patterns of the song could also be identified during sleep. Similar to song-learning oscines, the burst structure was more variable during sleep than daytime song production. In kiskadees (Pitangus sulphuratus), a second vocalization, which is part of a multi-modal display, was also replayed during sleep along with one component of the visual display. These data show unambiguously that variable 'replay' of stereotyped vocal motor programmes is not restricted to programmes confined within forebrain circuitry. The proposed effects on vocal motor programme maintenance are, therefore, building on a pre-existing neural mechanism that predates the evolution of learned vocal motor behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juan F Döppler
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,IFIBA, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Manon Peltier
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Ana Amador
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,IFIBA, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Franz Goller
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,Institute of Zoophysiology, University of Münster, Munster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
| | - Gabriel B Mindlin
- Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,IFIBA, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Goffinet J, Brudner S, Mooney R, Pearson J. Low-dimensional learned feature spaces quantify individual and group differences in vocal repertoires. eLife 2021; 10:e67855. [PMID: 33988503 PMCID: PMC8213406 DOI: 10.7554/elife.67855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Increases in the scale and complexity of behavioral data pose an increasing challenge for data analysis. A common strategy involves replacing entire behaviors with small numbers of handpicked, domain-specific features, but this approach suffers from several crucial limitations. For example, handpicked features may miss important dimensions of variability, and correlations among them complicate statistical testing. Here, by contrast, we apply the variational autoencoder (VAE), an unsupervised learning method, to learn features directly from data and quantify the vocal behavior of two model species: the laboratory mouse and the zebra finch. The VAE converges on a parsimonious representation that outperforms handpicked features on a variety of common analysis tasks, enables the measurement of moment-by-moment vocal variability on the timescale of tens of milliseconds in the zebra finch, provides strong evidence that mouse ultrasonic vocalizations do not cluster as is commonly believed, and captures the similarity of tutor and pupil birdsong with qualitatively higher fidelity than previous approaches. In all, we demonstrate the utility of modern unsupervised learning approaches to the quantification of complex and high-dimensional vocal behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jack Goffinet
- Department of Computer Science, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
- Center for Cognitive Neurobiology, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| | - Samuel Brudner
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| | - Richard Mooney
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| | - John Pearson
- Center for Cognitive Neurobiology, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
- Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke UniversityDurhamUnited States
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Brumm H, Goymann W, Derégnaucourt S, Geberzahn N, Zollinger SA. Traffic noise disrupts vocal development and suppresses immune function. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/20/eabe2405. [PMID: 33980481 PMCID: PMC8115921 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe2405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Noise pollution has been linked to learning and language deficits in children, but the causal mechanisms connecting noise to cognitive deficiencies remain unclear because experimental models are lacking. Here, we investigated the effects of noise on birdsong learning, the primary animal model for vocal learning and speech development in humans. We found that traffic noise exposure retarded vocal development and led to learning inaccuracies. In addition, noise suppressed immune function during the sensitive learning period, indicating that it is a potent stressor for birds, which is likely to compromise their cognitive functions. Our results provide important insights into the consequences of noise pollution and pave the way for future studies using birdsong as an experimental model for the investigation of noise-induced learning impairments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Brumm
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Communication and Social Behaviour Group, Seewiesen, Germany.
| | - Wolfgang Goymann
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | | | - Nicole Geberzahn
- University Paris Nanterre, Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, Nanterre, France
| | - Sue Anne Zollinger
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Communication and Social Behaviour Group, Seewiesen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
van Hasselt SJ, Rusche M, Vyssotski AL, Verhulst S, Rattenborg NC, Meerlo P. The European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) shows signs of NREM sleep homeostasis but has very little REM sleep and no REM sleep homeostasis. Sleep 2021; 43:5682807. [PMID: 31863116 PMCID: PMC7294413 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsz311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Revised: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Most of our knowledge about the regulation and function of sleep is based on studies in a restricted number of mammalian species, particularly nocturnal rodents. Hence, there is still much to learn from comparative studies in other species. Birds are interesting because they appear to share key aspects of sleep with mammals, including the presence of two different forms of sleep, i.e. non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. We examined sleep architecture and sleep homeostasis in the European starling, using miniature dataloggers for electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. Under controlled laboratory conditions with a 12:12 h light-dark cycle, the birds displayed a pronounced daily rhythm in sleep and wakefulness with most sleep occurring during the dark phase. Sleep mainly consisted of NREM sleep. In fact, the amount of REM sleep added up to only 1~2% of total sleep time. Animals were subjected to 4 or 8 h sleep deprivation to assess sleep homeostatic responses. Sleep deprivation induced changes in subsequent NREM sleep EEG spectral qualities for several hours, with increased spectral power from 1.17 Hz up to at least 25 Hz. In contrast, power below 1.17 Hz was decreased after sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation also resulted in a small compensatory increase in NREM sleep time the next day. Changes in EEG spectral power and sleep time were largely similar after 4 and 8 h sleep deprivation. REM sleep was not noticeably compensated after sleep deprivation. In conclusion, starlings display signs of NREM sleep homeostasis but the results do not support the notion of important REM sleep functions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J van Hasselt
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Maria Rusche
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.,Avian Sleep Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Alexei L Vyssotski
- Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Niels C Rattenborg
- Avian Sleep Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Peter Meerlo
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Syringeal vocal folds do not have a voice in zebra finch vocal development. Sci Rep 2021; 11:6469. [PMID: 33742101 PMCID: PMC7979720 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85929-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Vocal behavior can be dramatically changed by both neural circuit development and postnatal maturation of the body. During song learning in songbirds, both the song system and syringeal muscles are functionally changing, but it is unknown if maturation of sound generators within the syrinx contributes to vocal development. Here we densely sample the respiratory pressure control space of the zebra finch syrinx in vitro. We show that the syrinx produces sound very efficiently and that key acoustic parameters, minimal fundamental frequency, entropy and source level, do not change over development in both sexes. Thus, our data suggest that the observed acoustic changes in vocal development must be attributed to changes in the motor control pathway, from song system circuitry to muscle force, and not by material property changes in the avian analog of the vocal folds. We propose that in songbirds, muscle use and training driven by the sexually dimorphic song system are the crucial drivers that lead to sexual dimorphism of the syringeal skeleton and musculature. The size and properties of the instrument are thus not changing, while its player is.
Collapse
|
29
|
Mason GM, Lokhandwala S, Riggins T, Spencer RMC. Sleep and human cognitive development. Sleep Med Rev 2021; 57:101472. [PMID: 33827030 DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Emerging studies across learning domains have shed light on mechanisms underlying sleep's benefits during numerous developmental periods. In this conceptual review, we survey recent studies of sleep and cognition across infancy, childhood, and adolescence. By summarizing recent findings and integrating across studies with disparate approaches, we provide a novel understanding of sleep's role in human cognitive function. Collectively, these studies point to an interrelation between brain development, sleep, and cognition. Moreover, we point to gaps in our understanding, which inform the agenda for future research in developmental and sleep science.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gina M Mason
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, USA; Neuroscience & Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
| | | | - Tracy Riggins
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
| | - Rebecca M C Spencer
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, USA; Neuroscience & Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA; Institute for Applied Life Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Spencer RMC. The role of naps in memory and executive functioning in early childhood. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2021; 60:139-158. [PMID: 33641791 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2020.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
While sleep, including naps, has been shown to benefit many cognitive functions in adults, understanding whether naps are beneficial in early childhood has important translational implications. Here we review recent studies which, collectively, suggest that naps indeed benefit cognition at this age. Specifically, declarative, motor, and emotional memory are better if a nap follows learning. Executive functions such as attention and emotion processing are likewise better following sleep. However, a better understanding of the mechanism supporting these benefits and the generalizability to other forms of learning and executive functions is necessary. It is important for future research to extend such findings, which may promote the use of naps to support early education, particularly for learning-impaired children.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M C Spencer
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Cooke EK, White SA. Learning in the time of COVID: insights from the zebra finch - a social vocal-learner. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 68:84-90. [PMID: 33571938 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth K Cooke
- Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Los Angeles, 90095, USA
| | - Stephanie A White
- Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Los Angeles, 90095, USA; Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, 90095, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Aulsebrook AE, Johnsson RD, Lesku JA. Light, Sleep and Performance in Diurnal Birds. Clocks Sleep 2021; 3:115-131. [PMID: 33525352 PMCID: PMC7931117 DOI: 10.3390/clockssleep3010008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Sleep has a multitude of benefits and is generally considered necessary for optimal performance. Disruption of sleep by extended photoperiods, moonlight and artificial light could therefore impair performance in humans and non-human animals alike. Here, we review the evidence for effects of light on sleep and subsequent performance in birds. There is accumulating evidence that exposure to natural and artificial sources of light regulates and suppresses sleep in diurnal birds. Sleep also benefits avian cognitive performance, including during early development. Nevertheless, multiple studies suggest that light can prolong wakefulness in birds without impairing performance. Although there is still limited research on this topic, these results raise intriguing questions about the adaptive value of sleep. Further research into the links between light, sleep and performance, including the underlying mechanisms and consequences for fitness, could shed new light on sleep evolution and urban ecology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne E. Aulsebrook
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
- School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia; (R.D.J.); (J.A.L.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Robin D. Johnsson
- School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia; (R.D.J.); (J.A.L.)
| | - John A. Lesku
- School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia; (R.D.J.); (J.A.L.)
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Connelly F, Johnsson RD, Aulsebrook AE, Mulder RA, Hall ML, Vyssotski AL, Lesku JA. Urban noise restricts, fragments, and lightens sleep in Australian magpies. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2020; 267:115484. [PMID: 32882458 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2020] [Revised: 08/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Urban areas are inherently noisy, and this noise can disrupt biological processes as diverse as communication, migration, and reproduction. We investigated how exposure to urban noise affects sleep, a process critical to optimal biological functioning, in Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen). Eight magpies experimentally exposed to noise in captivity for 24-h spent more time awake, and less time in non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) and REM sleep at night than under quiet conditions. Sleep was also fragmented, with more frequent interruptions by wakefulness, shorter sleep episode durations, and less intense non-REM sleep. REM sleep was particularly sensitive to urban noise. Following exposure to noise, magpies recovered lost sleep by engaging in more, and more intense, non-REM sleep. In contrast, REM sleep showed no rebound. This might indicate a long-term cost to REM sleep loss mediated by noise, or contest hypotheses regarding the functional value of this state. Overall, urban noise has extensive, disruptive impacts on sleep composition, architecture, and intensity in magpies. Future work should consider whether noise-induced sleep restriction and fragmentation have long-term consequences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Farley Connelly
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia; School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia.
| | - Robin D Johnsson
- School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia
| | - Anne E Aulsebrook
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia; School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia
| | - Raoul A Mulder
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Michelle L Hall
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia; Bush Heritage Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia; School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - Alexei L Vyssotski
- Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, 8006, Switzerland
| | - John A Lesku
- School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia; Research Centre for Future Landscapes, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Experience selectively alters functional connectivity within a neural network to predict learned behavior in juvenile songbirds. Neuroimage 2020; 222:117218. [PMID: 32745678 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117218] [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: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the central questions of neuroethology is how specialized brain areas communicate to form dynamic networks that support complex cognitive and behavioral processes. Developmental song learning in the male zebra finch songbird (Taeniopygia guttata) provides a unique window into the complex interplay among sensory, sensorimotor, and motor network nodes. The foundation of a young male's song structure is the sensory memory he forms during interactions with an adult "tutor." However, even in the absence of tutoring, juveniles produce a song-like behavior. Thus, by controlling a juvenile male's tutor exposure, we can examine how tutor experience affects distributed neural networks and how network properties predict behavior. Here, we used longitudinal, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) functional connectivity (FC) and song analyses to examine known nodes of the song network, and to allow discovery of additional areas functionally related to song learning. We present three major novel findings. First, tutor deprivation significantly reduced the global FC strength of the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) subregion of the auditory forebrain required for sensory song learning. Second, tutor deprivation resulted in reduced FC between NCM and cerebellar lobule VI, a region analogous to areas that regulate limbic, social, and language functions in humans. Third, NCM FC strength predicted song stereotypy and mediated the relationship between tutoring and stereotypy, thus completing the link between experience, neural network properties, and complex learned behavior.
Collapse
|
35
|
Canavan SV, Margoliash D. Budgerigars have complex sleep structure similar to that of mammals. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000929. [PMID: 33201883 PMCID: PMC7707536 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Birds and mammals share specialized forms of sleep including slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement sleep (REM), raising the question of why and how specialized sleep evolved. Extensive prior studies concluded that avian sleep lacked many features characteristic of mammalian sleep, and therefore that specialized sleep must have evolved independently in birds and mammals. This has been challenged by evidence of more complex sleep in multiple songbird species. To extend this analysis beyond songbirds, we examined a species of parrot, the sister taxon to songbirds. We implanted adult budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) with electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrooculogram (EOG) electrodes to evaluate sleep architecture, and video monitored birds during sleep. Sleep was scored with manual and automated techniques, including automated detection of slow waves and eye movements. This can help define a new standard for how to score sleep in birds. Budgerigars exhibited consolidated sleep, a pattern also observed in songbirds, and many mammalian species, including humans. We found that REM constituted 26.5% of total sleep, comparable to humans and an order of magnitude greater than previously reported. Although we observed no spindles, we found a clear state of intermediate sleep (IS) similar to non-REM (NREM) stage 2. Across the night, SWS decreased and REM increased, as observed in mammals and songbirds. Slow wave activity (SWA) fluctuated with a 29-min ultradian rhythm, indicating a tendency to move systematically through sleep states as observed in other species with consolidated sleep. These results are at variance with numerous older sleep studies, including for budgerigars. Here, we demonstrated that lighting conditions used in the prior budgerigar study-and commonly used in older bird studies-dramatically disrupted budgerigar sleep structure, explaining the prior results. Thus, it is likely that more complex sleep has been overlooked in a broad range of bird species. The similarities in sleep architecture observed in mammals, songbirds, and now budgerigars, alongside recent work in reptiles and basal birds, provide support for the hypothesis that a common amniote ancestor possessed the precursors that gave rise to REM and SWS at one or more loci in the parallel evolution of sleep in higher vertebrates. We discuss this hypothesis in terms of the common plan of forebrain organization shared by reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sofija V. Canavan
- Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Daniel Margoliash
- Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Dinh JP, Peters S, Nowicki S. Song performance improves with continued singing across the morning in a songbird. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
37
|
Yanagihara S, Ikebuchi M, Mori C, Tachibana RO, Okanoya K. Arousal State-Dependent Alterations in Neural Activity in the Zebra Finch VTA/SNc. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:897. [PMID: 32973441 PMCID: PMC7472990 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sleep-wake behaviors are important for survival and highly conserved among animal species. A growing body of evidence indicates that the midbrain dopaminergic system is associated with sleep-wake regulation in mammals. Songbirds exhibit mammalian-like sleep structures, and neurons in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) possess physiological properties similar to those in mammals. However, it remains uncertain whether the neurons in the songbird VTA/SNc are associated with sleep-wake regulation. Here, we show that VTA/SNc neurons in zebra finches exhibit arousal state-dependent alterations in spontaneous neural activity. By recording extracellular single-unit activity from anesthetized or freely behaving zebra finches, we found that VTA/SNc neurons exhibited increased firing rates during wakefulness, and the same population of neurons displayed reduced firing rates during anesthesia and slow-wave sleep. These results suggest that the songbird VTA/SNc is associated with the regulation of sleep and wakefulness along with other arousal regulatory systems. These findings raise the possibility that fundamental neural mechanisms of sleep-wake behaviors are evolutionarily conserved between birds and mammals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shin Yanagihara
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Chihiro Mori
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Snell-Rood E, Snell-Rood C. The developmental support hypothesis: adaptive plasticity in neural development in response to cues of social support. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190491. [PMID: 32475336 PMCID: PMC7293157 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Across mammals, cues of developmental support, such as touching, licking or attentiveness, stimulate neural development, behavioural exploration and even overall body growth. Why should such fitness-related traits be so sensitive to developmental conditions? Here, we review what we term the 'developmental support hypothesis', a potential adaptive explanation of this plasticity. Neural development can be a costly process, in terms of time, energy and exposure. However, environmental variability may sometimes compromise parental care during this costly developmental period. We propose this environmental variation has led to the evolution of adaptive plasticity of neural and behavioural development in response to cues of developmental support, where neural development is stimulated in conditions that support associated costs. When parental care is compromised, offspring grow less and adopt a more resilient and stress-responsive strategy, improving their chances of survival in difficult conditions, similar to existing ideas on the adaptive value of early-life programming of stress. The developmental support hypothesis suggests new research directions, such as testing the adaptive value of reduced neural growth and metabolism in stressful conditions, and expanding the range of potential cues animals may attend to as indicators of developmental support. Considering evolutionary and ecologically appropriate cues of social support also has implications for promoting healthy neural development in humans. This article is part of the theme issue 'Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Snell-Rood
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Gortner 140, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Claire Snell-Rood
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Rossi N, Derégnaucourt S. Mechanisms of recognition in birds and social Hymenoptera: from detection to information processing. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190483. [PMID: 32420859 PMCID: PMC7331013 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In this opinion piece, we briefly review our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying auditory individual recognition in birds and chemical nest-mate recognition in social Hymenoptera. We argue that even though detection and perception of recognition cues are well studied in social Hymenoptera, the neural mechanisms remain a black box. We compare our knowledge of these insect systems with that of the well-studied avian 'song control system'. We suggest that future studies on recognition should focus on the hypothesis of a distributed template instead of trying to locate the seat of the template as recent results do not seem to point in that direction. This article is part of the theme issue 'Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natacha Rossi
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology, University of Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 99 avenue J.-B., Clément, 93430 Villetaneuse, France
| | - Sébastien Derégnaucourt
- Laboratory Ethology Cognition Development, University Paris Nanterre, University Paris Lumières, 200 avenue de la République, 92001 Nanterre, France
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
van der Meij J, Ungurean G, Rattenborg NC, Beckers GJL. Evolution of sleep in relation to memory – a birds’ brain view. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
|
41
|
Aulsebrook AE, Lesku JA, Mulder RA, Goymann W, Vyssotski AL, Jones TM. Streetlights Disrupt Night-Time Sleep in Urban Black Swans. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
|
42
|
Jaffe PI, Brainard MS. Acetylcholine acts on songbird premotor circuitry to invigorate vocal output. eLife 2020; 9:e53288. [PMID: 32425158 PMCID: PMC7237207 DOI: 10.7554/elife.53288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Acetylcholine is well-understood to enhance cortical sensory responses and perceptual sensitivity in aroused or attentive states. Yet little is known about cholinergic influences on motor cortical regions. Here we use the quantifiable nature of birdsong to investigate how acetylcholine modulates the cortical (pallial) premotor nucleus HVC and shapes vocal output. We found that dialyzing the cholinergic agonist carbachol into HVC increased the pitch, amplitude, tempo and stereotypy of song, similar to the natural invigoration of song that occurs when males direct their songs to females. These carbachol-induced effects were associated with increased neural activity in HVC and occurred independently of basal ganglia circuitry. Moreover, we discovered that the normal invigoration of female-directed song was also accompanied by increased HVC activity and was attenuated by blocking muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. These results indicate that, analogous to its influence on sensory systems, acetylcholine can act directly on cortical premotor circuitry to adaptively shape behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul I Jaffe
- Departments of Physiology and Psychiatry, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
- Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Michael S Brainard
- Departments of Physiology and Psychiatry, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
- Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Pagliaro AH, Arya P, Sharbaf Y, Gobes SMH. Hemispheric asymmetry of calbindin-positive neurons is associated with successful song imitation. Brain Res 2020; 1732:146679. [PMID: 31981678 PMCID: PMC7060817 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2020.146679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2019] [Revised: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The plasticity that facilitates learning during critical (sensitive) periods in development is tightly regulated by inhibitory neurons. Song acquisition in birds is one example of a learning process that occurs during a sensitive period early in development. Sensory experience with a song 'tutor' during this sensitive period prunes excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the song production nucleus HVC (proper noun). Neurons in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM), a secondary auditory region, lose their tutor song selectivity when gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) signaling is blocked. Given the importance of inhibition in the song learning process, we investigated whether individual differences in learning outcomes can be explained by the distribution of specific populations of (mostly) inhibitory neurons in HVC and NCM. We measured the densities of distinct neuronal populations (defined by their expression of the calcium-binding proteins calbindin, calretinin, and parvalbumin) in these two regions. We found that lateralization of calbindin-positive neurons was related to successful song learning: good learners were characterized by hemispheric asymmetry of calbindin-positive neurons in the medial NCM (fewer CB+ neurons in the left hemisphere), whereas poor learners did not show any asymmetry. In contrast, the density of all three neuronal populations in HVC did not differ between good and poor learners. These findings not only identify a specific (presumably) inhibitory cell type (calbindin-expressing neurons) that is related to song learning, but also emphasize the role of hemispheric asymmetry in auditory memory formation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexa H Pagliaro
- Neuroscience Department, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481-8203, United States
| | - Payal Arya
- Neuroscience Department, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481-8203, United States
| | - Yasmin Sharbaf
- Neuroscience Department, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481-8203, United States
| | - Sharon M H Gobes
- Neuroscience Department, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481-8203, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Gorgoni M, D'Atri A, Scarpelli S, Reda F, De Gennaro L. Sleep electroencephalography and brain maturation: developmental trajectories and the relation with cognitive functioning. Sleep Med 2020; 66:33-50. [PMID: 31786427 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2019.06.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2019] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- M Gorgoni
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - A D'Atri
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - S Scarpelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - F Reda
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - L De Gennaro
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "Sapienza", Rome, Italy; IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Pagliaro AH, Arya P, Piristine HC, Lord JS, Gobes SMH. Bilateral brain activity in auditory regions is necessary for successful vocal learning in songbirds. Neurosci Lett 2020; 718:134730. [PMID: 31899312 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2019.134730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2019] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 12/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In humans and songbirds, neuronal activation for language and song shifts from bilateral- or diffuse-activation to left-hemispheric dominance while proficiency increases. Further parallels exist at the behavioural level: unstructured juvenile vocalizations become highly stereotyped adult vocalizations through a process of trial and error learning. Greater left-hemispheric dominance in the songbird caudomedial Nidopallium (NCM), a Wernicke-like region, is related to better imitation of the tutor's song learned early in development, indicating a role for the left NCM in forming auditory memories. Here, we hypothesize that inhibition of the left NCM during interaction with a song tutor would impair imitation of the tutor's song more than inhibition of the right NCM. We infused a transient sodium channel blocker (TTX) immediately prior to tutoring sessions in either the left or right auditory lobule of previously isolated juvenile male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Upon maturation, both right-infused and left-infused birds' tutor song imitation was significantly impaired. Left-infused birds also showed less consistency in the rhythmic stability of their song as well as increased pitch, suggesting a subtle division of function between the left and right auditory lobules.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexa H Pagliaro
- Neuroscience Department, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481-8203, United States
| | - Payal Arya
- Neuroscience Department, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481-8203, United States
| | - Hande C Piristine
- Neuroscience Department, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481-8203, United States
| | - Julia S Lord
- Neuroscience Department, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481-8203, United States
| | - Sharon M H Gobes
- Neuroscience Department, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481-8203, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Kollmorgen S, Hahnloser RHR, Mante V. Nearest neighbours reveal fast and slow components of motor learning. Nature 2020; 577:526-530. [PMID: 31915383 PMCID: PMC7610670 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1892-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Changes in behavior, due to environmental influences, development, and learning1–5, are commonly quantified based on a few hand-picked, domain-specific, features2–4,6,7 (e.g. the average pitch of acoustic vocalizations3) and assuming discrete classes of behaviors (e.g. distinct vocal syllables)2,3,8–10. Such methods generalize poorly across different behaviors and model systems and may miss important components of change. Here we present a more general account of behavioral change based on nearest-neighbor statistics11–13 and apply it to song development in a songbird, the zebra finch3. First, we introduce “repertoire dating”, whereby each rendition of a behavior (e.g. each vocalization) is assigned a repertoire time, reflecting when similar renditions were typical in the behavioral repertoire. Repertoire time (rT) isolates the components of vocal variability congruent with the long-term changes due to vocal learning and development and stratifies the behavioral repertoire into regressions (rT < true production time, t), anticipations (rT > t), and typical renditions (rT ≈ t). Second, we obtain a holistic, yet low-dimensional14, description of vocal change in terms of a stratified “behavioral trajectory”, revealing multiple, previously unrecognized, components of behavioral change on fast and slow timescales, as well as distinct patterns of overnight consolidation1,2,4,15,16. Diurnal changes in regressions undergo only weak consolidation, whereas anticipations and typical renditions consolidate fully. Because of its generality, our non-parametric description of how behavior evolves relative to itself, rather than relative to a potentially arbitrary, experimenter-defined, goal2,3,15,17 appears well-suited to compare learning and change across behaviors and species18,19, as well as biological and artificial systems5.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sepp Kollmorgen
- Institute of Neuroinformatics and Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Richard H R Hahnloser
- Institute of Neuroinformatics and Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Valerio Mante
- Institute of Neuroinformatics and Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Abstract
During sleep, animals do not eat, reproduce or forage. Sleeping animals are vulnerable to predation. Yet, the persistence of sleep despite evolutionary pressures, and the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation, indicate that sleep serves a function or functions that cannot easily be bypassed. Recent research demonstrates sleep to be phylogenetically far more pervasive than previously appreciated; it is possible that the very first animals slept. Here, we give an overview of sleep across various species, with the aim of determining its original purpose. Sleep exists in animals without cephalized nervous systems and can be influenced by non-neuronal signals, including those associated with metabolic rhythms. Together, these observations support the notion that sleep serves metabolic functions in neural and non-neural tissues.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ron C Anafi
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology and the Program for Chronobiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Matthew S Kayser
- Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology and the Program for Chronobiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - David M Raizen
- Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. .,Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology and the Program for Chronobiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. .,Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Kearney MG, Warren TL, Hisey E, Qi J, Mooney R. Discrete Evaluative and Premotor Circuits Enable Vocal Learning in Songbirds. Neuron 2019; 104:559-575.e6. [PMID: 31447169 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.07.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Revised: 05/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Virtuosic motor performance requires the ability to evaluate and modify individual gestures within a complex motor sequence. Where and how the evaluative and premotor circuits operate within the brain to enable such temporally precise learning is poorly understood. Songbirds can learn to modify individual syllables within their complex vocal sequences, providing a system for elucidating the underlying evaluative and premotor circuits. We combined behavioral and optogenetic methods to identify 2 afferents to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) that serve evaluative roles in syllable-specific learning and to establish that downstream cortico-basal ganglia circuits serve a learning role that is only premotor. Furthermore, song performance-contingent optogenetic stimulation of either VTA afferent was sufficient to drive syllable-specific learning, and these learning effects were of opposite valence. Finally, functional, anatomical, and molecular studies support the idea that these evaluative afferents bidirectionally modulate VTA dopamine neurons to enable temporally precise vocal learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Gene Kearney
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Timothy L Warren
- Institute of Neuroscience, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Erin Hisey
- Department of Cell Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Jiaxuan Qi
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Richard Mooney
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Variation in sequence dynamics improves maintenance of stereotyped behavior in an example from bird song. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:9592-9597. [PMID: 31015294 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1815910116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Performing a stereotyped behavior successfully over time requires both maintaining performance quality and adapting efficiently to environmental or physical changes affecting performance. The bird song system is a paradigmatic example of learning a stereotyped behavior and therefore is a good place to study the interaction of these two goals. Through a model of bird song learning, we show how instability in neural representation of stable behavior confers advantages for adaptation and maintenance with minimal cost to performance quality. A precise, temporally sparse sequence from the premotor nucleus HVC is crucial to the performance of song in songbirds. We find that learning in the presence of sequence variations facilitates rapid relearning after shifts in the target song or muscle structure and results in decreased error with neuron loss. This robustness is due to the prevention of the buildup of correlations in the learned connectivity. In the absence of sequence variations, these correlations grow, due to the relatively low dimensionality of the exploratory variation in comparison with the number of plastic synapses. Our results suggest one would expect to see variability in neural systems executing stereotyped behaviors, and this variability is an advantageous feature rather than a challenge to overcome.
Collapse
|
50
|
Lipkind D, Geambasu A, Levelt CC. The Development of Structured Vocalizations in Songbirds and Humans: A Comparative Analysis. Top Cogn Sci 2019; 12:894-909. [PMID: 30761767 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 12/27/2018] [Accepted: 01/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Humans and songbirds face a common challenge: acquiring the complex vocal repertoire of their social group. Although humans are thought to be unique in their ability to convey symbolic meaning through speech, speech and birdsong are comparable in their acoustic complexity and the mastery with which the vocalizations of adults are acquired by young individuals. In this review, we focus on recent advances in the study of vocal development in humans and songbirds that shed new light on the emergence of distinct structural levels of vocal behavior and point to new possible parallels between both groups.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dina Lipkind
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, The City University of New York.,Department of Biology, York College, The City University of New York
| | - Andreea Geambasu
- Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University
| | - Clara C Levelt
- Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University
| |
Collapse
|