scholarly journals A Basal Ganglia Circuit Sufficient To Guide Birdsong Learning

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Xiao ◽  
Gaurav Chattree ◽  
Francisco Garcia Oscos ◽  
Mou Cao ◽  
Matthew J. Wanat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Negative Reinforcement ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Optical Excitation ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Axon Terminals ◽  
Area X ◽  
Candidate Performance ◽  
The Brain

SUMMARYLearning complex 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 (Area X) 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 individual song syllables are naturally performed. We find that optical excitation and inhibition of VTA terminals have opponent effects on future performances of targeted song syllables and are each sufficient to reliably guide learned changes in song, consistent with positive and negative reinforcement of performance outcomes. These findings define a central role for reinforcement mechanisms in learning vocalizations and provide the first demonstration of minimal circuit elements for learning vocal behaviors.

scholarly journals miR-9 regulates basal ganglia-dependent developmental vocal learning and adult vocal performance in songbirds

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhimin Shi ◽  
Zoe Piccus ◽  
Xiaofang Zhang ◽  
Huidi Yang ◽  
Hannah Jarrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Language Impairments ◽  
Vocal Performance ◽  
Behavioral Deficits ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Dopamine Signaling ◽  
Area X

miR-9 is an evolutionarily conserved miRNA that is abundantly expressed in Area X, a basal ganglia nucleus required for vocal learning in songbirds. Here, we report that overexpression of miR-9 in Area X of juvenile zebra finches impairs developmental vocal learning, resulting in a song with syllable omission, reduced similarity to the tutor song, and altered acoustic features. miR-9 overexpression in juveniles also leads to more variable song performance in adulthood, and abolishes social context-dependent modulation of song variability. We further show that these behavioral deficits are accompanied by downregulation of FoxP1 and FoxP2, genes that are known to be associated with language impairments, as well as by disruption of dopamine signaling and widespread changes in the expression of genes that are important in circuit development and functions. These findings demonstrate a vital role for miR-9 in basal ganglia function and vocal communication, suggesting that dysregulation of miR-9 in humans may contribute to language impairments and related neurodevelopmental disorders.

scholarly journals Linking the genomic signatures of human beat synchronization and learned song in birds

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1835) ◽  
pp. 20200329
Author(s):  
Reyna L. Gordon ◽  
Andrea Ravignani ◽  
Julia Hyland Bruno ◽  
Cristina M. Robinson ◽  
Alyssa Scartozzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Genomic Signatures ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Evolutionary Radiation ◽  
Evolutionary Context ◽  
Area X ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

The development of rhythmicity is foundational to communicative and social behaviours in humans and many other species, and mechanisms of synchrony could be conserved across species. The goal of the current paper is to explore evolutionary hypotheses linking vocal learning and beat synchronization through genomic approaches, testing the prediction that genetic underpinnings of birdsong also contribute to the aetiology of human interactions with musical beat structure. We combined state-of-the-art-genomic datasets that account for underlying polygenicity of these traits: birdsong genome-wide transcriptomics linked to singing in zebra finches, and a human genome-wide association study of beat synchronization. Results of competitive gene set analysis revealed that the genetic architecture of human beat synchronization is significantly enriched for birdsong genes expressed in songbird Area X (a key nucleus for vocal learning, and homologous to human basal ganglia). These findings complement ethological and neural evidence of the relationship between vocal learning and beat synchronization, supporting a framework of some degree of common genomic substrates underlying rhythm-related behaviours in two clades, humans and songbirds (the largest evolutionary radiation of vocal learners). Future cross-species approaches investigating the genetic underpinnings of beat synchronization in a broad evolutionary context are discussed. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

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 Vocal babbling in songbirds requires the basal ganglia-recipient motor thalamus but not the basal ganglia

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (6) ◽  
pp. 2729-2739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse H. Goldberg ◽  
Michale S. Fee
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Thalamic Nucleus ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Bilateral Lesions ◽  
Motor Thalamus ◽  
Area X

Young songbirds produce vocal “babbling,” and the variability of their songs is thought to underlie a process of trial-and-error vocal learning. It is known that this exploratory variability requires the “cortical” component of a basal ganglia (BG) thalamocortical loop, but less understood is the role of the BG and thalamic components in this behavior. We found that large bilateral lesions to the songbird BG homolog Area X had little or no effect on song variability during vocal babbling. In contrast, lesions to the BG-recipient thalamic nucleus DLM (medial portion of the dorsolateral thalamus) largely abolished normal vocal babbling in young birds and caused a dramatic increase in song stereotypy. These findings support the idea that the motor thalamus plays a key role in the expression of exploratory juvenile behaviors during learning.

Sleep-Related Neural Activity in a Premotor and a Basal-Ganglia Pathway of the Songbird

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 794-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H. R. Hahnloser ◽  
Alexay A. Kozhevnikov ◽  
Michale S. Fee
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Spike Trains ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Time Lags ◽  
Reversible Inactivation ◽  
Magnocellular Nucleus ◽  
Area X ◽  
Temporal Sequences ◽  
Spike Patterns

During singing, neurons in premotor nucleus RA (robust nucleus of the arcopallium) of the zebra finch produce complex temporal sequences of bursts that are recapitulated during sleep. RA receives input from nucleus HVC via the premotor pathway, and also from the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (LMAN), part of a basal ganglia-related circuit essential for vocal learning. We explore the propagation of sleep-related spike patterns in these two pathways and their influences on RA activity. We promote sleep in head-fixed birds by injections of melatonin and make single-neuron recordings from the three major classes of neurons in HVC: RA-projecting neurons, Area X-projecting neurons, and interneurons. We also record LMAN neurons that project to RA. In paired recordings, spike trains from identified HVC neuron types are strongly coherent with spike trains in RA neurons, whereas LMAN projection neurons on average exhibit only a weak coherency with neurons in HVC and RA. We further examine the relative roles of HVC and LMAN in generating RA burst sequences with reversible inactivation. Lidocaine inactivation of HVC completely abolishes bursting in RA, whereas inactivation of LMAN has no effect on burst rates in RA. In combination, our data suggest that in adult birds, RA burst sequences in sleep are driven via the premotor pathway from HVC. We present a simple generative model of spike trains in HVC, RA, and LMAN neurons that is able to qualitatively reproduce observed coherency functions. We propose that commonly observed coherency peaks at positive and negative time lags are caused by sequentially correlated HVC activity.

scholarly journals Corticobasal ganglia projecting neurons are required for juvenile vocal learning but not for adult vocal plasticity in songbirds

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (45) ◽  
pp. 22833-22843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Sánchez-Valpuesta ◽  
Yumeno Suzuki ◽  
Yukino Shibata ◽  
Noriyuki Toji ◽  
Yu Ji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Neural Function ◽  
Vocal Plasticity ◽  
Song Structure ◽  
Acoustic Fluctuations ◽  
Temporal Aspects ◽  
Area X

Birdsong, like human speech, consists of a sequence of temporally precise movements acquired through vocal learning. The learning of such sequential vocalizations depends on the neural function of the motor cortex and basal ganglia. However, it is unknown how the connections between cortical and basal ganglia components contribute to vocal motor skill learning, as mammalian motor cortices serve multiple types of motor action and most experimentally tractable animals do not exhibit vocal learning. Here, we leveraged the zebra finch, a songbird, as an animal model to explore the function of the connectivity between cortex-like (HVC) and basal ganglia (area X), connected by HVC(X) projection neurons with temporally precise firing during singing. By specifically ablating HVC(X) neurons, juvenile zebra finches failed to copy tutored syllable acoustics and developed temporally unstable songs with less sequence consistency. In contrast, HVC(X)-ablated adults did not alter their learned song structure, but generated acoustic fluctuations and responded to auditory feedback disruption by the introduction of song deterioration, as did normal adults. These results indicate that the corticobasal ganglia input is important for learning the acoustic and temporal aspects of song structure, but not for generating vocal fluctuations that contribute to the maintenance of an already learned vocal pattern.

scholarly journals Thalamostriatal and cerebellothalamic pathways in a songbird, the Bengalese finch

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Nicholson ◽  
Todd Roberts ◽  
Samuel J. Sober
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Viral Vector ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Cerebellar Nuclei ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Dorsal Thalamus ◽  
Intralaminar Nuclei ◽  
Song System ◽  
Area X

AbstractThe thalamostriatal system is a major network in the mammalian brain, originating principally from the intralaminar nuclei of thalamus. Functions of the thalamostriatal system remain unclear, but a subset of these projections provides a pathway through which the cerebellum communicates with the basal ganglia. Both the cerebellum and basal ganglia play crucial roles in motor control. Although songbirds have yielded key insights into the neural basis of vocal learning, it is unknown whether a thalamostriatal system exists in the songbird brain. Thalamic nucleus DLM is an important part of the song system, the network of nuclei required for learning and producing song. DLM receives output from song system basal ganglia nucleus Area X and sits within dorsal thalamus, the proposed avian homolog of the mammalian intralaminar nuclei that also receives projections from the cerebellar nuclei. Using a viral vector that specifically labels presynaptic axon segments, we show in Bengalese finches that dorsal thalamus projects to Area X, the basal ganglia nucleus of the song system, and to surrounding medial striatum. To identify the sources of thalamic input to Area X, we map DLM and cerebellar-recipient dorsal thalamus (DTCbN). Surprisingly, we find both DLM and immediately-adjacent subregions of DTCbN project to Area X. In contrast, a medial-ventral subregion of DTCbN projects to medial striatum outside Area X. Our results suggest the basal ganglia in the song system, like the mammalian basal ganglia, integrate feedback from the thalamic region to which they project as well as thalamic regions that receive cerebellar output.

scholarly journals Basal Ganglia Herniation into the Fourth Ventricle

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mensura Altumbabic ◽  
Marc R. Del Bigio ◽  
Scott Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Intracerebral Hemorrhage ◽  
Fourth Ventricle ◽  
Transtentorial Herniation ◽  
Intracerebral Bleeding ◽  
Rare Phenomenon ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACT:Background:Transtentorial herniation of large cerebral fragments is a rare phenomenon.Method:Case StudyResults:Examination of the brain of a 35-year-old male showed massive intracerebral hemorrhage resulting in displacement of basal ganglia components into the fourth ventricle.Conclusions:Sufficiently rapid intracerebral bleeding can dissect fragments of cerebrum and displace them long distances across the tentorial opening.

scholarly journals Toward asleep DBS: cortico-basal ganglia spectral and coherence activity during interleaved propofol/ketamine sedation mimics NREM/REM sleep activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Guang ◽  
Halen Baker ◽  
Orilia Ben-Yishay Nizri ◽  
Shimon Firman ◽  
Uri Werner-Reiss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Standard Procedure ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Sleep Cycle ◽  
Advanced Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Low Frequency Power ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Frequency Power

AbstractDeep brain stimulation (DBS) is currently a standard procedure for advanced Parkinson’s disease. Many centers employ awake physiological navigation and stimulation assessment to optimize DBS localization and outcome. To enable DBS under sedation, asleep DBS, we characterized the cortico-basal ganglia neuronal network of two nonhuman primates under propofol, ketamine, and interleaved propofol-ketamine (IPK) sedation. Further, we compared these sedation states in the healthy and Parkinsonian condition to those of healthy sleep. Ketamine increases high-frequency power and synchronization while propofol increases low-frequency power and synchronization in polysomnography and neuronal activity recordings. Thus, ketamine does not mask the low-frequency oscillations used for physiological navigation toward the basal ganglia DBS targets. The brain spectral state under ketamine and propofol mimicked rapid eye movement (REM) and Non-REM (NREM) sleep activity, respectively, and the IPK protocol resembles the NREM-REM sleep cycle. These promising results are a meaningful step toward asleep DBS with nondistorted physiological navigation.

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