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Koch TMI, Marks ES, Roberts TF. AVN: A Deep Learning Approach for the Analysis of Birdsong. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.10.593561. [PMID: 39229184 PMCID: PMC11370480 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.10.593561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2024]
Abstract
Deep learning tools for behavior analysis have enabled important new insights and discoveries in neuroscience. Yet, they often compromise interpretability and generalizability for performance, making it difficult to quantitively compare phenotypes across datasets and research groups. We developed a novel deep learning-based behavior analysis pipeline, Avian Vocalization Network (AVN), for the learned vocalizations of the most extensively studied vocal learning model species - the zebra finch. AVN annotates songs with high accuracy across multiple animal colonies without the need for any additional training data and generates a comprehensive set of interpretable features to describe the syntax, timing, and acoustic properties of song. We use this feature set to compare song phenotypes across multiple research groups and experiments, and to predict a bird's stage in song development. Additionally, we have developed a novel method to measure song imitation that requires no additional training data for new comparisons or recording environments, and outperforms existing similarity scoring methods in its sensitivity and agreement with expert human judgements of song similarity. These tools are available through the open-source AVN python package and graphical application, which makes them accessible to researchers without any prior coding experience. Altogether, this behavior analysis toolkit stands to facilitate and accelerate the study of vocal behavior by enabling a standardized mapping of phenotypes and learning outcomes, thus helping scientists better link behavior to the underlying neural processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Therese M I Koch
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas TX, USA
| | - Ethan S Marks
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas TX, USA
| | - Todd F Roberts
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas TX, USA
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2
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Koparkar A, Warren TL, Charlesworth JD, Shin S, Brainard MS, Veit L. Lesions in a songbird vocal circuit increase variability in song syntax. eLife 2024; 13:RP93272. [PMID: 38635312 PMCID: PMC11026095 DOI: 10.7554/elife.93272] [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] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Complex skills like speech and dance are composed of ordered sequences of simpler elements, but the neuronal basis for the syntactic ordering of actions is poorly understood. Birdsong is a learned vocal behavior composed of syntactically ordered syllables, controlled in part by the songbird premotor nucleus HVC (proper name). Here, we test whether one of HVC's recurrent inputs, mMAN (medial magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium), contributes to sequencing in adult male Bengalese finches (Lonchura striata domestica). Bengalese finch song includes several patterns: (1) chunks, comprising stereotyped syllable sequences; (2) branch points, where a given syllable can be followed probabilistically by multiple syllables; and (3) repeat phrases, where individual syllables are repeated variable numbers of times. We found that following bilateral lesions of mMAN, acoustic structure of syllables remained largely intact, but sequencing became more variable, as evidenced by 'breaks' in previously stereotyped chunks, increased uncertainty at branch points, and increased variability in repeat numbers. Our results show that mMAN contributes to the variable sequencing of vocal elements in Bengalese finch song and demonstrate the influence of recurrent projections to HVC. Furthermore, they highlight the utility of species with complex syntax in investigating neuronal control of ordered sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avani Koparkar
- Neurobiology of Vocal Communication, Institute for Neurobiology, University of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Timothy L Warren
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
- Departments of Horticulture and Integrative Biology, Oregon State UniversityCorvallisUnited States
| | - Jonathan D Charlesworth
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Sooyoon Shin
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Michael S Brainard
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California San FranciscoSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Lena Veit
- Neurobiology of Vocal Communication, Institute for Neurobiology, University of TübingenTübingenGermany
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3
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Fujimoto H, Hasegawa T. Reversible inhibition of the basal ganglia prolongs repetitive vocalization but only weakly affects sequencing at branch points in songbirds. Cereb Cortex Commun 2023; 4:tgad016. [PMID: 37675437 PMCID: PMC10477706 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgad016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Although vocal signals, including languages and songbird syllables, are composed of a finite number of acoustic elements, diverse vocal sequences are composed of a combination of these elements, which are linked together by syntactic rules. However, the neural basis of syntactic vocalization generation remains poorly understood. Here, we report that inhibition using tetrodotoxin (TTX) and manipulations of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors within the basal ganglia Area X or lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (LMAN) alter and prolong repetitive vocalization in Bengalese finches (Lonchura striata var. domestica). These results suggest that repetitive vocalizations are modulated by the basal ganglia and not solely by higher motor cortical neurons. These data highlight the importance of neural circuits, including the basal ganglia, in the production of stereotyped repetitive vocalizations and demonstrate that dynamic disturbances within the basal ganglia circuitry can differentially affect the repetitive temporal features of songs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hisataka Fujimoto
- Department of Anatomy, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, Kurashiki, Okayama 701-0192, Japan
| | - Taku Hasegawa
- Laboratory for Imagination and Executive functions, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wakoshi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
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4
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Kim G, Sánchez-Valpuesta M, Kao MH. Partial inactivation of songbird auditory cortex impairs both tempo and pitch discrimination. Mol Brain 2023; 16:48. [PMID: 37270583 PMCID: PMC10239083 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-023-01039-5] [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: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuronal tuning for spectral and temporal features has been studied extensively in the auditory system. In the auditory cortex, diverse combinations of spectral and temporal tuning have been found, but how specific feature tuning contributes to the perception of complex sounds remains unclear. Neurons in the avian auditory cortex are spatially organized in terms of spectral or temporal tuning widths, providing an opportunity for investigating the link between auditory tuning and perception. Here, using naturalistic conspecific vocalizations, we asked whether subregions of the auditory cortex that are tuned for broadband sounds are more important for discriminating tempo than pitch, due to the lower frequency selectivity. We found that bilateral inactivation of the broadband region impairs performance on both tempo and pitch discrimination. Our results do not support the hypothesis that the lateral, more broadband subregion of the songbird auditory cortex contributes more to processing temporal than spectral information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gunsoo Kim
- Sensory and Motor Systems Research Group, Korea Brain Research Institute, Daegu, South Korea.
| | | | - Mimi H Kao
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02111, USA
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5
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Ivlieva NY. The Role of the Basal Ganglia in the Development and Organization of Vocal Behavior in Songbirds. Russ J Dev Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s106236042204004x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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6
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Xiao L, Roberts TF. What Is the Role of Thalamostriatal Circuits in Learning Vocal Sequences? Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:724858. [PMID: 34630047 PMCID: PMC8493212 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.724858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Basal ganglia (BG) circuits integrate sensory and motor-related information from the cortex, thalamus, and midbrain to guide learning and production of motor sequences. Birdsong, like speech, is comprised of precisely sequenced vocal elements. Learning song sequences during development relies on Area X, a vocalization related region in the medial striatum of the songbird BG. Area X receives inputs from cortical-like pallial song circuits and midbrain dopaminergic circuits and sends projections to the thalamus. It has recently been shown that thalamic circuits also send substantial projections back to Area X. Here, we outline a gated-reinforcement learning model for how Area X may use signals conveyed by thalamostriatal inputs to direct song learning. Integrating conceptual advances from recent mammalian and songbird literature, we hypothesize that thalamostriatal pathways convey signals linked to song syllable onsets and offsets and influence striatal circuit plasticity via regulation of cholinergic interneurons (ChIs). We suggest that syllable sequence associated vocal-motor information from the thalamus drive precisely timed pauses in ChIs activity in Area X. When integrated with concurrent corticostriatal and dopaminergic input, this circuit helps regulate plasticity on medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and the learning of syllable sequences. We discuss new approaches that can be applied to test core ideas of this model and how associated insights may provide a framework for understanding the function of BG circuits in learning motor sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Xiao
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Todd F Roberts
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
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7
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Moorman S, Ahn JR, Kao MH. Plasticity of stereotyped birdsong driven by chronic manipulation of cortical-basal ganglia activity. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2619-2632.e4. [PMID: 33974850 PMCID: PMC8222193 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Cortical-basal ganglia (CBG) circuits are critical for motor learning and performance, and are a major site of pathology. In songbirds, a CBG circuit regulates moment-by-moment variability in song and also enables song plasticity. Studies have shown that variable burst firing in LMAN, the output nucleus of this CBG circuit, actively drives acute song variability, but whether and how LMAN drives long-lasting changes in song remains unclear. Here, we ask whether chronic pharmacological augmentation of LMAN bursting is sufficient to drive plasticity in birds singing stereotyped songs. We show that altered LMAN activity drives cumulative changes in acoustic structure, timing, and sequencing over multiple days, and induces repetitions and silent pauses reminiscent of human stuttering. Changes persisted when LMAN was subsequently inactivated, indicating plasticity in song motor regions. Following cessation of pharmacological treatment, acoustic features and song sequence gradually recovered to their baseline values over a period of days to weeks. Together, our findings show that augmented bursting in CBG circuitry drives plasticity in well-learned motor skills, and may inform treatments for basal ganglia movement disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanne Moorman
- Psychology Department, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 2, 3584 CM Utrecht, the Netherlands; Biology Department, Tufts University, 200 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
| | - Jae-Rong Ahn
- Biology Department, Tufts University, 200 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Mimi H Kao
- Biology Department, Tufts University, 200 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
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8
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Chen Y, Sakata JT. Norepinephrine in the avian auditory cortex enhances developmental song learning. J Neurophysiol 2021; 125:2397-2407. [PMID: 33978494 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00612.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory learning during critical periods in development has lasting effects on behavior. Neuromodulators like dopamine and norepinephrine (NE) have been implicated in various forms of sensory learning, but little is known about their contribution to sensory learning during critical periods. Songbirds like the zebra finch communicate with each other using vocal signals (e.g., songs) that are learned during a critical period in development, and the first crucial step in song learning is memorizing the sound of an adult conspecific's (tutor's) song. Here, we analyzed the extent to which NE modulates the auditory learning of a tutor's song and the fidelity of song imitation. Specifically, we paired infusions of NE or vehicle into the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) with brief epochs of song tutoring. We analyzed the effect of NE in juvenile zebra finches that had or had not previously been exposed to song. Regardless of previous exposure to song, juveniles that received NE infusions into NCM during song tutoring produced songs that were more acoustically similar to the tutor song and that incorporated more elements of the tutor song than juveniles with control infusions. These data support the notion that NE can regulate the formation of sensory memories that shape the development of vocal behaviors that are used throughout an organism's life.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Although norepinephrine (NE) has been implicated in various forms of sensory learning, little is known about its contribution to sensory learning during critical periods in development. We reveal that pairing infusions of NE into the avian secondary auditory cortex with brief epochs of song tutoring significantly enhances auditory learning during the critical period for vocal learning. These data highlight the lasting impact of NE on sensory systems, cognition, and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yining Chen
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jon T Sakata
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Centre for Research on Brain, Language, and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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9
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Xiao L, Merullo DP, Koch TMI, Cao M, Co M, Kulkarni A, Konopka G, Roberts TF. Expression of FoxP2 in the basal ganglia regulates vocal motor sequences in the adult songbird. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2617. [PMID: 33976169 PMCID: PMC8113549 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22918-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Disruption of the transcription factor FoxP2, which is enriched in the basal ganglia, impairs vocal development in humans and songbirds. The basal ganglia are important for the selection and sequencing of motor actions, but the circuit mechanisms governing accurate sequencing of learned vocalizations are unknown. Here, we show that expression of FoxP2 in the basal ganglia is vital for the fluent initiation and termination of birdsong, as well as the maintenance of song syllable sequencing in adulthood. Knockdown of FoxP2 imbalances dopamine receptor expression across striatal direct-like and indirect-like pathways, suggesting a role of dopaminergic signaling in regulating vocal motor sequencing. Confirming this prediction, we show that phasic dopamine activation, and not inhibition, during singing drives repetition of song syllables, thus also impairing fluent initiation and termination of birdsong. These findings demonstrate discrete circuit origins for the dysfluent repetition of vocal elements in songbirds, with implications for speech disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Xiao
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Devin P Merullo
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Therese M I Koch
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Mou Cao
- Department of Pediatrics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Marissa Co
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | | | - Genevieve Konopka
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Todd F Roberts
- Department of Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
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10
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Palmer SE, Wright BD, Doupe AJ, Kao MH. Variable but not random: temporal pattern coding in a songbird brain area necessary for song modification. J Neurophysiol 2020; 125:540-555. [PMID: 33296616 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00034.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Practice of a complex motor gesture involves motor exploration to attain a better match to target, but little is known about the neural code for such exploration. We examine spiking in a premotor area of the songbird brain critical for song modification and quantify correlations between spiking and time in the motor sequence. While isolated spikes code for time in song during performance of song to a female bird, extended strings of spiking and silence, particularly bursts, code for time in song during undirected (solo) singing, or "practice." Bursts code for particular times in song with more information than individual spikes, and this spike-spike synergy is significantly higher during undirected singing. The observed pattern information cannot be accounted for by a Poisson model with a matched time-varying rate, indicating that the precise timing of spikes in both bursts in undirected singing and isolated spikes in directed singing code for song with a temporal code. Temporal coding during practice supports the hypothesis that lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium neurons actively guide song modification at local instances in time.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This paper shows that bursts of spikes in the songbird brain during practice carry information about the output motor pattern. The brain's code for song changes with social context, in performance versus practice. Synergistic combinations of spiking and silence code for time in the bird's song. This is one of the first uses of information theory to quantify neural information about a motor output. This activity may guide changes to the song.
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Affiliation(s)
- S E Palmer
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, Department of Physics, Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - B D Wright
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, Department of Physics, Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - A J Doupe
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, Department of Physics, Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - M H Kao
- Department of Biology & Program in Neuroscience, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
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11
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Rensel MA, Schlinger BA. The stressed brain: regional and stress-related corticosterone and stress-regulated gene expression in the adult zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). J Neuroendocrinol 2020; 32:e12852. [PMID: 32364267 PMCID: PMC7286616 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Glucocorticoids (CORT) are well-known as important regulators of behaviour and cognition at basal levels and under stress. However, the precise mechanisms governing CORT action and functional outcomes of this action in the brain remain unclear, particularly in model systems other than rodents. In the present study, we investigated the dynamics of CORT regulation in the zebra finch, an important model system for vocal learning, neuroplasticity and cognition. We tested the hypothesis that CORT is locally regulated in the zebra finch brain by quantifying regional and stress-related variation in total CORT across brain regions. In addition, we used an ex vivo slice culture system to test whether CORT regulates target gene expression uniquely in discrete regions of the brain. We documented a robust increase in brain CORT across regions after 30 minutes of restraint stress but, interestingly, baseline and stress-induced CORT levels varied between regions. In addition, CORT treatment of brain slice cultures differentially affected expression of three CORT target genes: it up-regulated expression of FKBP5 in most regions and SGK1 in the hypothalamus only, whereas GILZ was unaffected by CORT treatment across all brain regions investigated. The specific mechanisms producing regional variation in CORT and CORT-dependent downstream gene expression remain unknown, although these data provide additional support for the hypothesis that the songbird brain employs regulatory mechanisms that result in precise control over the influence of CORT on glucocorticoid-sensitive neural circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle A. Rensel
- Institute for Society and Genetics, the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- Corresponding author (MAR)
| | - Barney A. Schlinger
- Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- Dept. of Integrative Biology and Physiology, the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
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12
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Isola GR, Vochin A, Sakata JT. Manipulations of inhibition in cortical circuitry differentially affect spectral and temporal features of Bengalese finch song. J Neurophysiol 2020; 123:815-830. [PMID: 31967928 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00142.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The interplay between inhibition and excitation can regulate behavioral expression and control, including the expression of communicative behaviors like birdsong. Computational models postulate varying degrees to which inhibition within vocal motor circuitry influences birdsong, but few studies have tested these models by manipulating inhibition. Here we enhanced and attenuated inhibition in the cortical nucleus HVC (used as proper name) of Bengalese finches (Lonchura striata var. domestica). Enhancement of inhibition (with muscimol) in HVC dose-dependently reduced the amount of song produced. Infusions of higher concentrations of muscimol caused some birds to produce spectrally degraded songs, whereas infusions of lower doses of muscimol led to the production of relatively normal (nondegraded) songs. However, the spectral and temporal structures of these nondegraded songs were significantly different from songs produced under control conditions. In particular, muscimol infusions decreased the frequency and amplitude of syllables, increased various measures of acoustic entropy, and increased the variability of syllable structure. Muscimol also increased sequence durations and the variability of syllable timing and syllable sequencing. Attenuation of inhibition (with bicuculline) in HVC led to changes to song distinct from and often opposite to enhancing inhibition. For example, in contrast to muscimol, bicuculline infusions increased syllable amplitude, frequency, and duration and decreased the variability of acoustic features. However, like muscimol, bicuculline increased the variability of syllable sequencing. These data highlight the importance of inhibition to the production of stereotyped vocalizations and demonstrate that changes to neural dynamics within cortical circuitry can differentially affect spectral and temporal features of song.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We reveal that manipulations of inhibition in the cortical nucleus HVC affect the structure, timing, and sequencing of syllables in Bengalese finch song. Enhancing and blocking inhibition led to opposite changes to the acoustic structure and timing of vocalizations, but both caused similar changes to vocal sequencing. These data provide support for computational models of song control but also motivate refinement of existing models to account for differential effects on syllable structure, timing, and sequencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav R Isola
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Anca Vochin
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jon T Sakata
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Centre for Research on Brain, Language, and Music, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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13
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New Insights into the Avian Song System and Neuronal Control of Learned Vocalizations. THE NEUROETHOLOGY OF BIRDSONG 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-34683-6_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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14
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Inda M, Hotta K, Oka K. Neural properties of fundamental function encoding of sound selectivity in the female avian auditory cortex. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 51:1770-1783. [PMID: 31705589 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Revised: 11/03/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) use their voices for communication. Song structures in the songs of individual males are important for sound recognition in females. The caudomedial mesopallium (CMM) and nidopallium (NCM) are known to be essential higher auditory regions for sound recognition. These two regions have also been discussed with respect to their fundamental functions and song selectivity. To clarify their functions and selectivity, we investigated latencies and spiking patterns and also developed a novel correlation analysis to evaluate the relationship between neural activity and the characteristics of acoustic factors. We found that the latencies and spiking patterns in response to song stimuli differed between the CMM and NCM. In addition, our correlation analysis revealed that amplitude and frequency structures were important temporal acoustic factors for both regions. Although the CMM and NCM have different fundamental functions, they share similar encoding systems for acoustic factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Inda
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Kohji Hotta
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Kotaro Oka
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan.,Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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15
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Garr E. Contributions of the basal ganglia to action sequence learning and performance. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 107:279-295. [PMID: 31541637 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Revised: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Animals engage in intricately woven and choreographed action sequences that are constructed from trial-and-error learning. The mechanisms by which the brain links together individual actions which are later recalled as fluid chains of behavior are not fully understood, but there is broad consensus that the basal ganglia play a crucial role in this process. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the role of the basal ganglia in action sequencing, with a focus on whether the computational framework of reinforcement learning can capture key behavioral features of sequencing and the neural mechanisms that underlie them. While a simple neurocomputational model of reinforcement learning can capture key features of action sequence learning, this model is not sufficient to capture goal-directed control of sequences or their hierarchical representation. The hierarchical structure of action sequences, in particular, poses a challenge for building better models of action sequencing, and it is in this regard that further investigations into basal ganglia information processing may be informative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Garr
- Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 5(th) Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States.
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16
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James LS, Sakata JT. Developmental modulation and predictability of age-dependent vocal plasticity in adult zebra finches. Brain Res 2019; 1721:146336. [PMID: 31310739 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.146336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Predicting the nature of behavioral plasticity can provide insight into mechanisms of behavioral expression and control. Songbirds like the zebra finch rely on vocal signals for communication, and the performance of these signals demonstrate considerable plasticity over development. Traditionally, these signals were thought to be fixed in adulthood, but recent studies have revealed significant age-dependent changes to spectral and temporal features of song in adult songbirds. A number of age-dependent changes to song resemble acute changes to adult song performance across social contexts (e.g., when an adult male sings to a female relative to when he sings in isolation). The ability of variation in social context-dependent changes to predict variation in age-dependent plasticity would suggest shared mechanisms, but little is known about this predictability. In addition, although developmental experiences can shape adult plasticity, little is known about the extent to which social interactions during development affect age-dependent change to adult song. To this end, we systematically analyzed age- and context-dependent changes to adult zebra finch song, and then examined the degree to which age-dependent changes varied across birds that were social or non-socially tutored birds and to which social context-dependent changes predicted age-dependent changes. Non-socially tutored birds showed more dramatic changes to the broad structure of their motif over time than socially tutored birds, but non-socially and socially tutored birds did not differ in the extent of changes to various spectral and temporal features of song. Overall, we found that adult zebra finches produced longer and more spectrally stereotyped songs when they were older than when they were younger. Moreover, regardless of developmental tutoring, individual variation in age-dependent changes to song bout duration and syllable repetition were predicted by variation in social context-dependent changes to these features. These data indicate that social experiences during development can shape some aspects of adult plasticity and that acute context-dependent and long-term age-dependent changes to some song features could be mediated by modifications within similar neural substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Logan S James
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada; Centre for Research for Brain, Language, and Music, Montreal, QC H3G 2A8, Canada
| | - Jon T Sakata
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada; Centre for Research for Brain, Language, and Music, Montreal, QC H3G 2A8, Canada; Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
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17
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Dopaminergic regulation of vocal-motor plasticity and performance. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2019; 54:127-133. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2018.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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18
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Tanaka M, Sun F, Li Y, Mooney R. A mesocortical dopamine circuit enables the cultural transmission of vocal behaviour. Nature 2018; 563:117-120. [PMID: 30333629 PMCID: PMC6219627 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0636-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The cultural transmission of behaviour depends on the ability of the pupil to identify and emulate an appropriate tutor1-4. How the brain of the pupil detects a suitable tutor and encodes the behaviour of the tutor is largely unknown. Juvenile zebra finches readily copy the songs of the adult tutors that they interact with, but not the songs that they listen to passively through a speaker5,6, indicating that social cues generated by the tutor facilitate song imitation. Here we show that neurons in the midbrain periaqueductal grey of juvenile finches are selectively excited by a singing tutor and-by releasing dopamine in the cortical song nucleus HVC-help to encode the song representations of the tutor used for vocal copying. Blocking dopamine signalling in the HVC of the pupil during tutoring blocked copying, whereas pairing stimulation of periaqueductal grey terminals in the HVC with a song played through a speaker was sufficient to drive copying. Exposure to a singing tutor triggered the rapid emergence of responses to the tutor song in the HVC of the pupil and a rapid increase in the complexity of the song of the pupil, an early signature of song copying7,8. These findings reveal that a dopaminergic mesocortical circuit detects the presence of a tutor and helps to encode the performance of the tutor, facilitating the cultural transmission of vocal behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masashi Tanaka
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Fangmiao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China
- PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
| | - Yulong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing, China
- PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Richard Mooney
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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19
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The Avian Basal Ganglia Are a Source of Rapid Behavioral Variation That Enables Vocal Motor Exploration. J Neurosci 2018; 38:9635-9647. [PMID: 30249800 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2915-17.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Revised: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The basal ganglia (BG) participate in aspects of reinforcement learning that require evaluation and selection of motor programs associated with improved performance. However, whether the BG additionally contribute to behavioral variation ("motor exploration") that forms the substrate for such learning remains unclear. In songbirds, a tractable system for studying BG-dependent skill learning, a role for the BG in generating exploratory variability, has been challenged by the finding that lesions of Area X, the song-specific component of the BG, have no lasting effects on several forms of vocal variability that have been studied. Here we demonstrate that lesions of Area X in adult male zebra finches (Taeniopygia gutatta) permanently eliminate rapid within-syllable variation in fundamental frequency (FF), which can act as motor exploration to enable reinforcement-driven song learning. In addition, we found that this within-syllable variation is elevated in juveniles and in adults singing alone, conditions that have been linked to enhanced song plasticity and elevated neural variability in Area X. Consistent with a model that variability is relayed from Area X, via its cortical target, the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (LMAN), to influence song motor circuitry, we found that lesions of LMAN also eliminate within-syllable variability. Moreover, we found that electrical perturbation of LMAN can drive fluctuations in FF that mimic naturally occurring within-syllable variability. Together, these results demonstrate that the BG are a central source of rapid behavioral variation that can serve as motor exploration for vocal learning.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Many complex motor skills, such as speech, are not innately programmed but are learned gradually through trial and error. Learning involves generating exploratory variability in action ("motor exploration") and evaluating subsequent performance to acquire motor programs that lead to improved performance. Although it is well established that the basal ganglia (BG) process signals relating to action evaluation and selection, whether and how the BG promote exploratory motor variability remain unclear. We investigated this question in songbirds, which learn to produce complex vocalizations through trial and error. In contrast with previous studies that did not find effects of BG lesions on vocal motor variability, we demonstrate that the BG are an essential source of rapid behavioral variation linked to vocal learning.
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20
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Xiao L, Chattree G, Oscos FG, Cao M, Wanat MJ, Roberts TF. A Basal Ganglia Circuit Sufficient to Guide Birdsong Learning. Neuron 2018; 98:208-221.e5. [PMID: 29551492 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.02.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 01/28/2018] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Learning vocal behaviors, like speech and birdsong, is thought to rely on continued performance evaluation. Whether candidate performance evaluation circuits in the brain are sufficient to guide vocal learning is not known. Here, we test the sufficiency of VTA projections to the vocal basal ganglia in singing zebra finches, a songbird species that learns to produce a complex and stereotyped multi-syllabic courtship song during development. We optogenetically manipulate VTA axon terminals in singing birds contingent on how the pitch of an individual song syllable is naturally performed. We find that optical inhibition and excitation of VTA terminals are each sufficient to reliably guide learned changes in song. Inhibition and excitation have opponent effects on future performances of targeted song syllables, consistent with positive and negative reinforcement of performance outcomes. These findings define a central role for reinforcement mechanisms in learning vocalizations and demonstrate minimal circuit elements for learning vocal behaviors. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Xiao
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Gaurav Chattree
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Francisco Garcia Oscos
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Mou Cao
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Matthew J Wanat
- Department of Biology, Neuroscience Institute, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Todd F Roberts
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
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21
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Mello CV, Lovell PV. Avian genomics lends insights into endocrine function in birds. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2018; 256:123-129. [PMID: 28596079 PMCID: PMC5749246 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2017.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2017] [Revised: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The genomics era has brought along the completed sequencing of a large number of bird genomes that cover a broad range of the avian phylogenetic tree (>30 orders), leading to major novel insights into avian biology and evolution. Among recent findings, the discovery that birds lack a large number of protein coding genes that are organized in highly conserved syntenic clusters in other vertebrates is very intriguing, given the physiological importance of many of these genes. A considerable number of them play prominent endocrine roles, suggesting that birds evolved compensatory genetic or physiological mechanisms that allowed them to survive and thrive in spite of these losses. While further studies are needed to establish the exact extent of avian gene losses, these findings point to birds as potentially highly relevant model organisms for exploring the genetic basis and possible therapeutic approaches for a wide range of endocrine functions and disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- C V Mello
- Dept. Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, L470, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR 97239, United States.
| | - P V Lovell
- Dept. Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, L470, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR 97239, United States.
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22
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Chakraborty M, Chen LF, Fridel EE, Klein ME, Senft RA, Sarkar A, Jarvis ED. Overexpression of human NR2B receptor subunit in LMAN causes stuttering and song sequence changes in adult zebra finches. Sci Rep 2017; 7:942. [PMID: 28432288 PMCID: PMC5430713 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-00519-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2016] [Accepted: 03/03/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) learn to produce songs in a manner reminiscent of spoken language development in humans. One candidate gene implicated in influencing learning is the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype 2B glutamate receptor (NR2B). Consistent with this idea, NR2B levels are high in the song learning nucleus LMAN (lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium) during juvenile vocal learning, and decreases to low levels in adults after learning is complete and the song becomes more stereotyped. To test for the role of NR2B in generating song plasticity, we manipulated NR2B expression in LMAN of adult male zebra finches by increasing its protein levels to those found in juvenile birds, using a lentivirus containing the full-length coding sequence of the human NR2B subunit. We found that increased NR2B expression in adult LMAN induced increases in song sequence diversity and slower song tempo more similar to juvenile songs, but also increased syllable repetitions similar to stuttering. We did not observe these effects in control birds with overexpression of NR2B outside of LMAN or with the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in LMAN. Our results suggest that low NR2B subunit expression in adult LMAN is important in conserving features of stereotyped adult courtship song.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukta Chakraborty
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA. .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.
| | - Liang-Fu Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Emma E Fridel
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Marguerita E Klein
- Neurotransgenic Laboratory, Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Rebecca A Senft
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA.,Department of Neurobiology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Abhra Sarkar
- Department of Statistical Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Erich D Jarvis
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, USA. .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA. .,Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
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23
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Murphy K, James LS, Sakata JT, Prather JF. Advantages of comparative studies in songbirds to understand the neural basis of sensorimotor integration. J Neurophysiol 2017; 118:800-816. [PMID: 28331007 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00623.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2016] [Revised: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensorimotor integration is the process through which the nervous system creates a link between motor commands and associated sensory feedback. This process allows for the acquisition and refinement of many behaviors, including learned communication behaviors such as speech and birdsong. Consequently, it is important to understand fundamental mechanisms of sensorimotor integration, and comparative analyses of this process can provide vital insight. Songbirds offer a powerful comparative model system to study how the nervous system links motor and sensory information for learning and control. This is because the acquisition, maintenance, and control of birdsong critically depend on sensory feedback. Furthermore, there is an incredible diversity of song organizations across songbird species, ranging from songs with simple, stereotyped sequences to songs with complex sequencing of vocal gestures, as well as a wide diversity of song repertoire sizes. Despite this diversity, the neural circuitry for song learning, control, and maintenance remains highly similar across species. Here, we highlight the utility of songbirds for the analysis of sensorimotor integration and the insights about mechanisms of sensorimotor integration gained by comparing different songbird species. Key conclusions from this comparative analysis are that variation in song sequence complexity seems to covary with the strength of feedback signals in sensorimotor circuits and that sensorimotor circuits contain distinct representations of elements in the vocal repertoire, possibly enabling evolutionary variation in repertoire sizes. We conclude our review by highlighting important areas of research that could benefit from increased comparative focus, with particular emphasis on the integration of new technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karagh Murphy
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming; and
| | - Logan S James
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jon T Sakata
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jonathan F Prather
- Program in Neuroscience, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming; and
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24
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Heston JB, White SA. To transduce a zebra finch: interrogating behavioral mechanisms in a model system for speech. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:691-706. [PMID: 28271185 PMCID: PMC5589492 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1153-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Revised: 01/15/2017] [Accepted: 02/03/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The ability to alter neuronal gene expression, either to affect levels of endogenous molecules or to express exogenous ones, is a powerful tool for linking brain and behavior. Scientists continue to finesse genetic manipulation in mice. Yet mice do not exhibit every behavior of interest. For example, Mus musculus do not readily imitate sounds, a trait known as vocal learning and a feature of speech. In contrast, thousands of bird species exhibit this ability. The circuits and underlying molecular mechanisms appear similar between disparate avian orders and are shared with humans. An advantage of studying vocal learning birds is that the neurons dedicated to this trait are nested within the surrounding brain regions, providing anatomical targets for relating brain and behavior. In songbirds, these nuclei are known as the song control system. Molecular function can be interrogated in non-traditional model organisms by exploiting the ability of viruses to insert genetic material into neurons to drive expression of experimenter-defined genes. To date, the use of viruses in the song control system is limited. Here, we review prior successes and test additional viruses for their capacity to transduce basal ganglia song control neurons. These findings provide a roadmap for troubleshooting the use of viruses in animal champions of fascinating behaviors—nowhere better featured than at the 12th International Congress!
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan B Heston
- Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.,Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.,Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Stephanie A White
- Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. .,Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
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25
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Automated synaptic connectivity inference for volume electron microscopy. Nat Methods 2017; 14:435-442. [PMID: 28250467 DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.4206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2016] [Accepted: 01/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Teravoxel volume electron microscopy data sets from neural tissue can now be acquired in weeks, but data analysis requires years of manual labor. We developed the SyConn framework, which uses deep convolutional neural networks and random forest classifiers to infer a richly annotated synaptic connectivity matrix from manual neurite skeleton reconstructions by automatically identifying mitochondria, synapses and their types, axons, dendrites, spines, myelin, somata and cell types. We tested our approach on serial block-face electron microscopy data sets from zebrafish, mouse and zebra finch, and computed the synaptic wiring of songbird basal ganglia. We found that, for example, basal-ganglia cell types with high firing rates in vivo had higher densities of mitochondria and vesicles and that synapse sizes and quantities scaled systematically, depending on the innervated postsynaptic cell types.
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26
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Woolley SC. Social context differentially modulates activity of two interneuron populations in an avian basal ganglia nucleus. J Neurophysiol 2016; 116:2831-2840. [PMID: 27628208 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00622.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2016] [Accepted: 09/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Basal ganglia circuits are critical for the modulation of motor performance across behavioral states. In zebra finches, a cortical-basal ganglia circuit dedicated to singing is necessary for males to adjust their song performance and transition between spontaneous singing, when they are alone ("undirected" song), and a performance state, when they sing to a female ("female-directed" song). However, we know little about the role of different basal ganglia cell types in this behavioral transition or the degree to which behavioral context modulates the activity of different neuron classes. To investigate whether interneurons in the songbird basal ganglia encode information about behavioral state, I recorded from two interneuron types, fast-spiking interneurons (FSI) and external pallidal (GPe) neurons, in the songbird basal ganglia nucleus area X during both female-directed and undirected singing. Both cell types exhibited higher firing rates, more frequent bursting, and greater trial-by-trial variability in firing when male zebra finches produced undirected songs compared with when they produced female-directed songs. However, the magnitude and direction of changes to the firing rate, bursting, and variability of spiking between when birds sat silently and when they sang undirected and female-directed song varied between FSI and GPe neurons. These data indicate that social modulation of activity important for eliciting changes in behavioral state is present in multiple cell types within area X and suggests that social interactions may adjust circuit dynamics during singing at multiple points within the circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Woolley
- Department of Biology and Center for Brain, Language, and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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