scholarly journals A subcortical circuit linking the cerebellum to the basal ganglia engaged in vocal learning

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludivine Pidoux ◽  
Pascale Leblanc ◽  
Arthur Leblois
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Sensorimotor Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Cerebellar Lesions ◽  
Avian Song

AbstractSpeech is a complex sensorimotor skill, and vocal learning involves both the basal ganglia and the cerebellum. These subcortical structures interact indirectly through their respective loops with thalamo-cortical and brainstem networks, and directly via subcortical pathways, but the role of their interaction during sensorimotor learning remains undetermined. While songbirds and their song-dedicated basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuitry offer a unique opportunity to study subcortical circuits involved in vocal learning, the cerebellar contribution to avian song learning remains unknown. We demonstrate that the cerebellum provides a strong input to the song-related basal ganglia nucleus in zebra finches. Cerebellar signals are transmitted to the basal ganglia via a disynaptic connection through the thalamus and then conveyed to their cortical target and to the premotor nucleus controlling song production. Finally, cerebellar lesions impair juvenile song learning, opening new opportunities to investigate how subcortical interactions between the cerebellum and basal ganglia contribute to sensorimotor learning.

scholarly journals A subcortical circuit linking the cerebellum to the basal ganglia engaged in vocal learning

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludivine Pidoux ◽  
Pascale Le Blanc ◽  
Carole Levenes ◽  
Arthur Leblois
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Sensorimotor Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Cerebellar Lesions ◽  
Avian Song

Speech is a complex sensorimotor skill, and vocal learning involves both the basal ganglia and the cerebellum. These subcortical structures interact indirectly through their respective loops with thalamo-cortical and brainstem networks, and directly via subcortical pathways, but the role of their interaction during sensorimotor learning remains undetermined. While songbirds and their song-dedicated basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuitry offer a unique opportunity to study subcortical circuits involved in vocal learning, the cerebellar contribution to avian song learning remains unknown. We demonstrate that the cerebellum provides a strong input to the song-related basal ganglia nucleus in zebra finches. Cerebellar signals are transmitted to the basal ganglia via a disynaptic connection through the thalamus and then conveyed to their cortical target and to the premotor nucleus controlling song production. Finally, cerebellar lesions impair juvenile song learning, opening new opportunities to investigate how subcortical interactions between the cerebellum and basal ganglia contribute to sensorimotor learning.

scholarly journals The Adjustment of Anterior Forebrain Pathway (AFP) to Birdsong Is Phased during Song Learning and Maintenance

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Jie Zang ◽  
Shenquan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Specific Effect ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Exact Role ◽  
Anterior Forebrain Pathway ◽  
Anterior Forebrain ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Two Phases

Anterior forebrain pathway (AFP), a basal ganglia-dorsal forebrain circuit, significantly impacts birdsong, specifically in juvenile or deaf birds. Despite many physiological experiments supporting AFP’s role in song production, the mechanism underlying it remains poorly understood. Using a computational model of the anterior forebrain pathway and song premotor pathway, we examined the dynamic process and exact role of AFP during song learning and distorted auditory feedback (DAF). Our simulation suggests that AFP can adjust the premotor pathway structure and syllables based on its delayed input to the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA). It is also indicated that the adjustment to the synaptic conductance in the song premotor pathway has two phases: normal phases where the adjustment decreases with an increasing number of trials and abnormal phases where the adjustment remains stable or even increases. These two phases alternate and impel a specific effect on birdsong based on AFP’s specific structures, which may be associated with auditory feedback. Furthermore, our model captured some characteristics shown in birdsong experiments, such as similarities in pitch, intensity, and duration to real birds and the highly abnormal features of syllables during DAF.

Properties of Dopamine Release and Uptake in the Songbird Basal Ganglia

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 1871-1879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel D. Gale ◽  
David J. Perkel
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Brain Slices ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Monoamine Transporters ◽  
Anterior Forebrain ◽  
Song Production ◽  
Electrode Selectivity ◽  
Area X ◽  
Da Release

Vocal learning in songbirds requires a basal ganglia circuit termed the anterior forebrain pathway (AFP). The AFP is not required for song production, and its role in song learning is not well understood. Like the mammalian striatum, the striatal component of the AFP, Area X, receives dense dopaminergic innervation from the midbrain. Since dopamine (DA) clearly plays a crucial role in basal ganglia–mediated motor control and learning in mammals, it seems likely that DA signaling contributes importantly to the functions of Area X as well. In this study, we used voltammetric methods to detect subsecond changes in extracellular DA concentration to gain better understanding of the properties and regulation of DA release and uptake in Area X. We electrically stimulated Ca2+- and action potential–dependent release of an electroactive substance in Area X brain slices and identified the substance as DA by the voltammetric waveform, electrode selectivity, and neurochemical and pharmacological evidence. As in the mammalian striatum, DA release in Area X is depressed by autoinhibition, and the lifetime of extracellular DA is strongly constrained by monoamine transporters. These results add to the known physiological similarities of the mammalian and songbird striatum and support further use of voltammetry in songbirds to investigate the role of basal ganglia DA in motor learning.

scholarly journals Song Selectivity in the Pallial-Basal Ganglia Song Circuit of Zebra Finches Raised Without Tutor Song Exposure

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 2099-2109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Kojima ◽  
Allison J. Doupe
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Sensorimotor Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Auditory Neurons ◽  
Sensory Learning ◽  
Anterior Forebrain ◽  
Acoustic Experience ◽  
Area X ◽  
Insight Into

Acoustic experience critically influences auditory cortical development as well as emergence of highly selective auditory neurons in the songbird sensorimotor circuit. In adult zebra finches, these “song-selective” neurons respond better to the bird's own song (BOS) than to songs of other conspecifics. Birds learn their songs by memorizing a tutor's song and then matching auditory feedback of their voice to the tutor song memory. Song-selective neurons in the pallial-basal ganglia circuit called the anterior forebrain pathway (AFP) reflect the development of BOS. However, during learning, they also respond strongly to tutor song and are compromised in their adult selectivity when birds are prevented from matching BOS to tutor, suggesting that selectivity depends on tutor song learning as well as sensorimotor matching of BOS feedback to the tutor song memory. We examined the contribution of sensory learning of tutor song to song selectivity by recording from AFP neurons in birds reared without exposure to adult conspecifics. We found that AFP neurons in these “isolate” birds had highly tuned responses to isolate BOS. The selectivity was as high, and in the striato-pallidal nucleus Area X, even higher than that in normal birds, due to abnormally weak responsiveness to conspecific song. These results demonstrate that sensory learning of tutor song is not necessary for BOS tuning of AFP neurons. Because isolate birds develop their song via sensorimotor learning, our data further illustrate the importance of individual sensorimotor learning for song selectivity and provide insight into possible functions of song-selective neurons.

Intrinsic and Synaptic Properties of Neurons in an Avian Thalamic Nucleus During Song Learning

2002 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 1903-1914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minmin Luo ◽  
David J. Perkel
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Equilibrium Potential ◽  
Sensorimotor Learning ◽  
Acid Decarboxylase ◽  
Inhibitory Input ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Intrinsic Properties ◽  
Area X

The anterior forebrain pathway (AFP) of the avian song system is a circuit essential for song learning but not for song production. This pathway consists of a loop serially connecting area X in the basal ganglia, the medial portion of the dorsolateral nucleus of thalamus (DLM), and the pallial lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (lMAN). The majority of DLM neurons in adult male zebra finches closely resemble mammalian thalamocortical neurons in both their intrinsic properties and the strong GABAergic inhibitory input they receive from the basal ganglia. These observations support the hypothesis that the AFP and the mammalian basal ganglia-thalamocortical pathway use similar information-processing mechanisms during sensorimotor learning. Our goal was to determine whether the cellular properties of DLM neurons are already established in juvenile birds in the sensorimotor phase of song learning when the AFP is essential. Current- and voltage-clamp recording in DLM of juvenile male zebra finches showed that juvenile DLM has two distinct cell types with intrinsic properties largely similar to those of their respective adult counterparts. Immunostaining for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) in juvenile zebra finches revealed that, as in adults, most area X somata are large and strongly GAD+ and that their terminals in DLM form dense GAD+ baskets around somata. GAD immunoreactivity in DLM was depleted by lesions of area X, indicating that a strong GABAergic projection from area X to DLM is already established in juveniles. Some of the DLM neurons exhibited large, spontaneous GABAergic synaptic events. Stimulation of the afferent pathway evoked an inhibitory postsynaptic potential or current that was blocked by the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline methiodide. The decay of the GABAAreceptor-mediated currents was slower in juvenile neurons than in adults. In addition, the reversal potential for these currents in juveniles was significantly more depolarized both than that in adults and than the Cl− equilibrium potential; yet the reversal potential was still well below the firing threshold and thus inhibitory in the slice preparation. Our findings suggest that the signal-processing role of DLM during sensorimotor learning is generally similar to that in adulthood but that quantitative changes in synaptic transmission accompany the development of stereotyped song.

scholarly journals Vocal learning in songbirds: the role of syllable order in song recognition

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carien Mol ◽  
Johan J. Bolhuis ◽  
Sanne Moorman
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Serial Order ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Speech Acquisition ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Song Recognition ◽  
First Results ◽  
Sequential Information

Songbird vocal learning has interesting behavioural and neural parallels with speech acquisition in human infants. Zebra finch males sing one unique song that they imitate from conspecific males, and both sexes learn to recognize their father's song. Although males copy the stereotyped syllable sequence of their father's song, the role of sequential information in recognition remains unclear. Here, we investigated father's song recognition after changing the serial order of syllables (switching the middle syllables, first and last syllables, or playing all syllables in inverse order). Behavioural approach and call responses of adult male and female zebra finches to their father's versus unfamiliar songs in playback tests demonstrated significant recognition of father's song with all syllable-order manipulations. We then measured behavioural responses to normal versus inversed-order father's song. In line with our first results, the subjects did not differentiate between the two. Interestingly, when males' strength of song learning was taken into account, we found a significant correlation between song imitation scores and the approach responses to the father's song. These findings suggest that syllable sequence is not essential for recognition of father's song in zebra finches, but that it does affect responsiveness of males in proportion to the strength of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

scholarly journals Adding colour-realistic video images to audio playbacks increases stimulus engagement but does not enhance vocal learning in zebra finches

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith M. Varkevisser ◽  
Ralph Simon ◽  
Ezequiel Mendoza ◽  
Martin How ◽  
Idse van Hijlkema ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Frame Rate ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Biologically Relevant ◽  
Video Images

AbstractBird song and human speech are learned early in life and for both cases engagement with live social tutors generally leads to better learning outcomes than passive audio-only exposure. Real-world tutor–tutee relations are normally not uni- but multimodal and observations suggest that visual cues related to sound production might enhance vocal learning. We tested this hypothesis by pairing appropriate, colour-realistic, high frame-rate videos of a singing adult male zebra finch tutor with song playbacks and presenting these stimuli to juvenile zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Juveniles exposed to song playbacks combined with video presentation of a singing bird approached the stimulus more often and spent more time close to it than juveniles exposed to audio playback only or audio playback combined with pixelated and time-reversed videos. However, higher engagement with the realistic audio–visual stimuli was not predictive of better song learning. Thus, although multimodality increased stimulus engagement and biologically relevant video content was more salient than colour and movement equivalent videos, the higher engagement with the realistic audio–visual stimuli did not lead to enhanced vocal learning. Whether the lack of three-dimensionality of a video tutor and/or the lack of meaningful social interaction make them less suitable for facilitating song learning than audio–visual exposure to a live tutor remains to be tested.

Involvement of Subcortical Structures in the Preparation of Self-Paced Movement

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 130-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Paradiso ◽  
Danny Cunic ◽  
Robert Chen
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Movement Planning ◽  
Movement Preparation ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Postoperative Mri ◽  
Deep Brain

Abstract Although it has long been suggested that the basal ganglia and thalamus are involved in movement planning and preparation, there was little direct evidence in humans to support this hypothesis. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a well-established treatment for movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, tremor, and dystonia. In patients undergoing DBS surgery, we recorded simultaneously from scalp contacts and from electrodes surgically implanted in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) of 13 patients with Parkinson's disease and in the “cerebellar” thalamus of 5 patients with tremor. The aim of our studies was to assess the role of the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical loop through the STN and the cerebello-thalamocortical circuit through the “cerebellar” thalamus in movement preparation. The patients were asked to perform self-paced wrist extension movements. All subjects showed a cortical readiness potential (RP) with onset ranging between 1.5 to 2s before the onset of movement. Subcortical RPs were recorded in 11 of 13 with electrodes in the STN and in 4 of 5 patients with electrodes in the thalamus. The onset time of the STN and thalamic RPs were not significantly different from the onset time of the scalp RP. The STN and thalamic RPs were present before both contralateral and ipsilateral hand movements. Postoperative MRI studies showed that contacts with maximum RP amplitude generally were inside the target nucleus. These findings indicate that both the basal ganglia and the cerebellar circuits participate in movement preparation in parallel with the cortex.

scholarly journals Shared mechanisms of auditory and non-auditory vocal learning in the songbird brain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James McGregor ◽  
Abigail Grassler ◽  
Paul I. Jaffe ◽  
Amanda Louise Jacob ◽  
Michael Brainard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
General Principle ◽  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Sensory Feedback ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Vocal Plasticity

Songbirds and humans share the ability to adaptively modify their vocalizations based on sensory feedback. Prior studies have focused primarily on the role that auditory feedback plays in shaping vocal output throughout life. In contrast, it is unclear whether and how non-auditory information drives vocal plasticity. Here, we first used a reinforcement learning paradigm to establish that non-auditory feedback can drive vocal learning in adult songbirds. We then assessed the role of a songbird basal ganglia-thalamocortical pathway critical to auditory vocal learning in this novel form of vocal plasticity. We found that both this circuit and its dopaminergic inputs are necessary for non-auditory vocal learning, demonstrating that this pathway is not specialized exclusively for auditory-driven vocal learning. The ability of this circuit to use both auditory and non-auditory information to guide vocal learning may reflect a general principle for the neural systems that support vocal plasticity across species.

Subcortical Lesions and Aphasia

1990 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald A. Robin ◽  
Steven Schienberg
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Neural Models ◽  
Subcortical Structures

Recent evidence suggests that subcortical lesions can give rise to aphasic symptoms. Two subcortical structures thought to participate in the pathogenesis of aphasia are the basal ganglia and the thalamus. This paper reports on 3 patients with lesions of the thalamus and 10 patients with lesions of the basal ganglia, most of whom had persistent aphasias. The role of subcortical structures in aphasia and the importance of subcortical structures in neural models of language are discussed.

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