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Moseley SM, Meliza CD. Cortical Processing of Conspecific Vocalizations in Zebra Finches Depends on the Early Acoustical Environment. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.25.600670. [PMID: 38979160 PMCID: PMC11230381 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.25.600670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Sensory experience during development has lasting effects on perception and neural processing. Exposing animals to artificial stimuli early in life influences the tuning and functional organization of the auditory cortex, but less is known about how the rich acoustical environments experienced by vocal communicators affect the processing of complex vocalizations. Here, we show that in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), a colonial-breeding songbird species, exposure to a naturalistic social-acoustical environment during development has a profound impact on cortical-level auditory responses to conspecific song. Compared to birds raised by pairs in acoustic isolation, birds raised in a breeding colony had higher average firing rates, selectivity, and discriminability, especially in the narrow-spiking, putatively inhibitory neurons of a higher-order auditory area, the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM). Neurons in colony-reared birds were also less correlated in their tuning and more efficient at encoding the spectrotemporal structure of conspecific song. These results suggest that the auditory cortex adapts to noisy, complex acoustical environments by strengthening inhibitory circuitry, functionally decoupling excitatory neurons while maintaining overall excitatory-inhibitory balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha M Moseley
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA 22904, USA
| | - C Daniel Meliza
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA 22904, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA 22904, USA
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2
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Wall EM, Woolley SC. Social experiences shape song preference learning independently of developmental exposure to song. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240358. [PMID: 38835281 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0358] [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: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Communication governs the formation and maintenance of social relationships. The interpretation of communication signals depends not only on the signal's content but also on a receiver's individual experience. Experiences throughout life may interact to affect behavioural plasticity, such that a lack of developmental sensory exposure could constrain adult learning, while salient adult social experiences could remedy developmental deficits. We investigated how experiences impact the formation and direction of female auditory preferences in the zebra finch. Zebra finches form long-lasting pair bonds and females learn preferences for their mate's vocalizations. We found that after 2 weeks of cohabitation with a male, females formed pair bonds and learned to prefer their partner's song regardless of whether they were reared with ('normally reared') or without ('song-naive') developmental exposure to song. In contrast, females that heard but did not physically interact with a male did not prefer his song. In addition, previous work has found that song-naive females do not show species-typical preferences for courtship song. We found that cohabitation with a male ameliorated this difference in preference. Thus, courtship and pair bonding, but not acoustic-only interactions, strongly influence preference learning regardless of rearing experience, and may dynamically drive auditory plasticity for recognition and preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin M Wall
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H3A 1A1, Canada
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H3G 2A8, Canada
| | - Sarah C Woolley
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H3A 1A1, Canada
- Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H3G 2A8, Canada
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
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Medina ND, Margoliash D. Bursts from the past: Intrinsic properties link a network model to zebra finch song. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.18.594825. [PMID: 38798332 PMCID: PMC11118566 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.18.594825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Neuronal intrinsic excitability is a mechanism implicated in learning and memory that is distinct from synaptic plasticity. Prior work in songbirds established that intrinsic properties (IPs) of premotor basal-ganglia-projecting neurons (HVC X ) relate to learned song. Here we find that temporal song structure is related to specific HVC X IPs: HVC X from birds who sang longer songs including longer invariant vocalizations (harmonic stacks) had IPs that reflected increased post-inhibitory rebound. This suggests a rebound excitation mechanism underlying the ability of HVC X neurons to integrate over long periods of time and represent sequence information. To explore this, we constructed a network model of realistic neurons showing how in-vivo HVC bursting properties link rebound excitation to network structure and behavior. These results demonstrate an explicit link between neuronal IPs and learned behavior. We propose that sequential behaviors exhibiting temporal regularity require IPs to be included in realistic network-level descriptions.
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Lu Y, Sciaccotta F, Kiely L, Bellanger B, Erisir A, Meliza CD. Rapid, Activity-Dependent Intrinsic Plasticity in the Developing Zebra Finch Auditory Cortex. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6872-6883. [PMID: 37648449 PMCID: PMC10573762 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0354-23.2023] [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: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The acoustic environment an animal experiences early in life shapes the structure and function of its auditory system. This process of experience-dependent development is thought to be primarily orchestrated by potentiation and depression of synapses, but plasticity of intrinsic voltage dynamics may also contribute. Here, we show that in juvenile male and female zebra finches, neurons in a cortical-level auditory area, the caudal mesopallium (CM), can rapidly change their firing dynamics. This plasticity was only observed in birds that were reared in a complex acoustic and social environment, which also caused increased expression of the low-threshold potassium channel Kv1.1 in the plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Intrinsic plasticity depended on activity, was reversed by blocking low-threshold potassium currents, and was prevented by blocking intracellular calcium signaling. Taken together, these results suggest that Kv1.1 is rapidly mobilized to the plasma membrane by activity-dependent elevation of intracellular calcium. This produces a shift in the excitability and temporal integration of CM neurons that may be permissive for auditory learning in complex acoustic environments during a crucial period for the development of vocal perception and production.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Neurons can change not only the strength of their connections to other neurons, but also how they integrate synaptic currents to produce patterns of action potentials. In contrast to synaptic plasticity, the mechanisms and functional roles of intrinisic plasticity remain poorly understood. We found that neurons in the zebra finch auditory cortex can rapidly shift their spiking dynamics within a few minutes in response to intracellular stimulation. This plasticity involves increased conductance of a low-threshold potassium current associated with the Kv1.1 channel, but it only occurs in birds reared in a rich acoustic environment. Thus, auditory experience regulates a mechanism of neural plasticity that allows neurons to rapidly adapt their firing dynamics to stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Alev Erisir
- Psychology Department
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904
| | - C Daniel Meliza
- Psychology Department
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904
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Scarpa GB, Starrett JR, Li GL, Brooks C, Morohashi Y, Yazaki-Sugiyama Y, Remage-Healey L. Estrogens rapidly shape synaptic and intrinsic properties to regulate the temporal precision of songbird auditory neurons. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:3401-3420. [PMID: 35849820 PMCID: PMC10068288 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac280] [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: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory neurons parse millisecond-variant sound streams like birdsong and speech with exquisite precision. The auditory pallial cortex of vocal learners like humans and songbirds contains an unconventional neuromodulatory system: neuronal expression of the estrogen synthesis enzyme aromatase. Local forebrain neuroestrogens fluctuate when songbirds hear a song, and subsequently modulate bursting, gain, and temporal coding properties of auditory neurons. However, the way neuroestrogens shape intrinsic and synaptic properties of sensory neurons remains unknown. Here, using a combination of whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology and calcium imaging, we investigate estrogenic neuromodulation of auditory neurons in a region resembling mammalian auditory association cortex. We found that estradiol rapidly enhances the temporal precision of neuronal firing via a membrane-bound G-protein coupled receptor and that estradiol rapidly suppresses inhibitory synaptic currents while sparing excitation. Notably, the rapid suppression of intrinsic excitability by estradiol was predicted by membrane input resistance and was observed in both males and females. These findings were corroborated by analysis of in vivo electrophysiology recordings, in which local estrogen synthesis blockade caused acute disruption of the temporal correlation of song-evoked firing patterns. Therefore, on a modulatory timescale, neuroestrogens alter intrinsic cellular properties and inhibitory neurotransmitter release to regulate the temporal precision of higher-order sensory neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garrett B Scarpa
- Neuroscience and Behavior, Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, University of Massachusetts, 639 N. Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - Joseph R Starrett
- Neuroscience and Behavior, Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, University of Massachusetts, 639 N. Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - Geng-Lin Li
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Eye and ENT Hospital, Fudan University, 83 Fenyang Rd, Xuhui District, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Colin Brooks
- Neuroscience and Behavior, Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, University of Massachusetts, 639 N. Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - Yuichi Morohashi
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Yoko Yazaki-Sugiyama
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Luke Remage-Healey
- Neuroscience and Behavior, Center for Neuroendocrine Studies, University of Massachusetts, 639 N. Pleasant St., Amherst, MA 01003, United States
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Sankar R, Rougier NP, Leblois A. Computational benefits of structural plasticity, illustrated in songbirds. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 132:1183-1196. [PMID: 34801257 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.033] [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: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The plasticity of nervous systems allows animals to quickly adapt to a changing environment. In particular, the structural plasticity of brain networks is often critical to the development of the central nervous system and the acquisition of complex behaviors. As an example, structural plasticity is central to the development of song-related brain circuits and may be critical for song acquisition in juvenile songbirds. Here, we review current evidences for structural plasticity and their significance from a computational point of view. We start by reviewing evidence for structural plasticity across species and categorizing them along the spatial axes as well as the along the time course during development. We introduce the vocal learning circuitry in zebra finches, as a useful example of structural plasticity, and use this specific case to explore the possible contributions of structural plasticity to computational models. Finally, we discuss current modeling studies incorporating structural plasticity and unexplored questions which are raised by such models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Remya Sankar
- Inria Bordeaux Sud-Ouest, Talence, France; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, CNRS, UMR 5293, France; LaBRI, Université de Bordeaux, INP, CNRS, UMR 5800, Talence, France
| | - Nicolas P Rougier
- Inria Bordeaux Sud-Ouest, Talence, France; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, CNRS, UMR 5293, France; LaBRI, Université de Bordeaux, INP, CNRS, UMR 5800, Talence, France
| | - Arthur Leblois
- Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, CNRS, UMR 5293, France.
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Turk AZ, Lotfi Marchoubeh M, Fritsch I, Maguire GA, SheikhBahaei S. Dopamine, vocalization, and astrocytes. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2021; 219:104970. [PMID: 34098250 PMCID: PMC8260450 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.104970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Dopamine, the main catecholamine neurotransmitter in the brain, is predominately produced in the basal ganglia and released to various brain regions including the frontal cortex, midbrain and brainstem. Dopamine's effects are widespread and include modulation of a number of voluntary and innate behaviors. Vigilant regulation and modulation of dopamine levels throughout the brain is imperative for proper execution of motor behaviors, in particular speech and other types of vocalizations. While dopamine's role in motor circuitry is widely accepted, its unique function in normal and abnormal speech production is not fully understood. In this perspective, we first review the role of dopaminergic circuits in vocal production. We then discuss and propose the conceivable involvement of astrocytes, the numerous star-shaped glia cells of the brain, in the dopaminergic network modulating normal and abnormal vocal productions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariana Z Turk
- Neuron-Glia Signaling and Circuits Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, 20892 MD, USA
| | - Mahsa Lotfi Marchoubeh
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 72701 AR, USA
| | - Ingrid Fritsch
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 72701 AR, USA
| | - Gerald A Maguire
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, 92521 CA, USA
| | - Shahriar SheikhBahaei
- Neuron-Glia Signaling and Circuits Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, 20892 MD, USA.
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Fehrman C, Robbins TD, Meliza CD. Nonlinear effects of intrinsic dynamics on temporal encoding in a model of avian auditory cortex. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1008768. [PMID: 33617539 PMCID: PMC7932506 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurons exhibit diverse intrinsic dynamics, which govern how they integrate synaptic inputs to produce spikes. Intrinsic dynamics are often plastic during development and learning, but the effects of these changes on stimulus encoding properties are not well known. To examine this relationship, we simulated auditory responses to zebra finch song using a linear-dynamical cascade model, which combines a linear spectrotemporal receptive field with a dynamical, conductance-based neuron model, then used generalized linear models to estimate encoding properties from the resulting spike trains. We focused on the effects of a low-threshold potassium current (KLT) that is present in a subset of cells in the zebra finch caudal mesopallium and is affected by early auditory experience. We found that KLT affects both spike adaptation and the temporal filtering properties of the receptive field. The direction of the effects depended on the temporal modulation tuning of the linear (input) stage of the cascade model, indicating a strongly nonlinear relationship. These results suggest that small changes in intrinsic dynamics in tandem with differences in synaptic connectivity can have dramatic effects on the tuning of auditory neurons. Experience-dependent developmental plasticity involves changes not only to synaptic connections, but to voltage-gated currents as well. Using biophysical models, it is straightforward to predict the effects of this intrinsic plasticity on the firing patterns of individual neurons, but it remains difficult to understand the consequences for sensory coding. We investigated this in the context of the zebra finch auditory cortex, where early exposure to a complex acoustic environment causes increased expression of a low-threshold potassium current. We simulated responses to song using a detailed biophysical model and then characterized encoding properties using generalized linear models. This analysis revealed that this potassium current has strong, nonlinear effects on how the model encodes the song’s temporal structure, and that the sign of these effects depend on the temporal tuning of the synaptic inputs. This nonlinearity gives intrinsic plasticity broad scope as a mechanism for developmental learning in the auditory system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christof Fehrman
- Psychology Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Tyler D. Robbins
- Cognitive Science Program, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
| | - C. Daniel Meliza
- Psychology Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Kudo T, Morohashi Y, Yazaki-Sugiyama Y. Early Auditory Experience Modifies Neuronal Firing Properties in the Zebra Finch Auditory Cortex. Front Neural Circuits 2020; 14:570174. [PMID: 33132855 PMCID: PMC7578418 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2020.570174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Songbirds learn to sing much as humans learn to speak. In zebra finches, one of the premier songbird models, males learn to sing for later courtship through a multistep learning process during the developmental period. They first listen to and memorize the song of a tutor (normally their father) during the sensory learning period. Then, in the subsequent sensory-motor learning phase (with large overlap), they match their vocalizations to the memorized tutor song via auditory feedback and develop their own unique songs, which they maintain throughout their lives. Previous studies have suggested that memories of tutor songs are shaped in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) of the brain, which is analogous to the mammalian higher auditory cortex. Isolation during development, which extends the sensory learning period in males, alters song preference in adult females, and NCM inactivation decreases song preference. However, the development of neurophysiological properties of neurons in this area and the effect of isolation on these neurons have not yet been explained. Here, we performed whole-cell patch-clamp recording on NCM neurons from juvenile zebra finches during the sensory learning period, 20, 40, or 60 days post-hatching (DPH) and examined their neurophysiological properties. In contrast to previous reports in adult NCM neurons, the majority of NCM neurons of juvenile zebra finches showed spontaneous firing with or without burst firing patterns, and the percentage of neurons that fired increased in the middle of the sensory learning period (40 DPH) and then decreased at the end (60 DPH) in both males and females. We further found that auditory isolation from tutor songs alters developmental changes in the proportions of firing neurons both in males and females, and also changes those of burst neurons differently between males that sing and females that do not. Taken together, these findings suggest that NCM neurons develop their neurophysiological properties depending on auditory experiences during the sensory song learning period, which underlies memory formation for song learning in males and song discrimination in females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Kudo
- Neuronal Mechanism of the Critical Period Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Yuichi Morohashi
- Neuronal Mechanism of the Critical Period Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Yoko Yazaki-Sugiyama
- Neuronal Mechanism of the Critical Period Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan.,International Research Center for Neurointelligence (IRCN), Institutes of Advanced Studies, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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