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.

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.

Phasic basal ganglia activity associated with high-gamma oscillation during sleep in a songbird

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 424-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin Yanagihara ◽  
Neal A. Hessler
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Phase Locking ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Field Potential ◽  
Vocal Plasticity ◽  
Song System ◽  
Gamma Frequency ◽  
High Gamma ◽  
Area X

The basal ganglia is thought to be critical for motor control and learning in mammals. In specific basal ganglia regions, gamma frequency oscillations occur during various behavioral states, including sleeping periods. Given the critical role of sleep in regulating vocal plasticity of songbirds, we examined the presence of such oscillations in the basal ganglia. In the song system nucleus Area X, epochs of high-gamma frequency (80–160 Hz) oscillation of local field potential during sleep were associated with phasic increases of neural activity. While birds were awake, activity of the same neurons increased specifically when birds were singing. Furthermore, during sleep there was a clear tendency for phase locking of spikes to these oscillations. Such patterned activity in the sleeping songbird basal ganglia could play a role in off-line processing of song system motor networks.

scholarly journals The role of auditory feedback in vocal learning and maintenance

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 320-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Tschida ◽  
Richard Mooney
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Vocal Learning

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.

THE ROLE OF THE BASAL GANGLIA IN EXPLORATION IN A NEURAL MODEL BASED ON REINFORCEMENT LEARNING

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 111-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. SRIDHARAN ◽  
P. S. PRASHANTH ◽  
V. S. CHAKRAVARTHY
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
State Space ◽  
Chaotic Systems ◽  
Neural Model ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Substantia Nigra Pars Compacta ◽  
Water Pool ◽  
Oscillatory Dynamics

We present a computational model of basal ganglia as a key player in exploratory behavior. The model describes exploration of a virtual rat in a simulated water pool experiment. The virtual rat is trained using a reward-based or reinforcement learning paradigm which requires units with stochastic behavior for exploration of the system's state space. We model the Subthalamic Nucleus-Globus Pallidus externa (STN-GPe) segment of the basal ganglia as a pair of neuronal layers with oscillatory dynamics, exhibiting a variety of dynamic regimes such as chaos, traveling waves and clustering. Invoking the property of chaotic systems to explore state-space, we suggest that the complex exploratory dynamics of STN-GPe system in conjunction with dopamine-based reward signaling from the Substantia Nigra pars compacta (SNc) present the two key ingredients of a reinforcement learning system.

A Reinforcement-learning Account of Tourette Syndrome

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S10-S10
Author(s):  
T. Maia
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Tourette Syndrome ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Mathematical Explanation ◽  
Reversal Training ◽  
Computational Theory ◽  
Habit Reversal Training ◽  
Habit Learning

BackgroundTourette syndrome (TS) has long been thought to involve dopaminergic disturbances, given the effectiveness of antipsychotics in diminishing tics. Molecular-imaging studies have, by and large, confirmed that there are specific alterations in the dopaminergic system in TS. In parallel, multiple lines of evidence have implicated the motor cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical (CBGTC) loop in TS. Finally, several studies demonstrate that patients with TS exhibit exaggerated habit learning. This talk will present a computational theory of TS that ties together these multiple findings.MethodsThe computational theory builds on computational reinforcement-learning models, and more specifically on a recent model of the role of the direct and indirect basal-ganglia pathways in learning from positive and negative outcomes, respectively.ResultsA model defined by a small set of equations that characterize the role of dopamine in modulating learning and excitability in the direct and indirect pathways explains, in an integrated way: (1) the role of dopamine in the development of tics; (2) the relation between dopaminergic disturbances, involvement of the motor CBGTC loop, and excessive habit learning in TS; (3) the mechanism of action of antipsychotics in TS; and (4) the psychological and neural mechanisms of action of habit-reversal training, the main behavioral therapy for TS.ConclusionsA simple computational model, thoroughly grounded on computational theory and basic-science findings concerning dopamine and the basal ganglia, provides an integrated, rigorous mathematical explanation for a broad range of empirical findings in TS.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Contributions of the basal ganglia to action sequence learning and performance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Garr
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Computational Framework ◽  
Action Sequence ◽  
Action Sequences ◽  
The Hierarchical Structure ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Action Sequencing

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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