scholarly journals Experience- and sex-dependent intrinsic plasticity in the zebra finch auditory cortex during song memorization

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew N Chen ◽  
C Daniel Meliza
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Noisy Environment ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Cortical Level ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Intrinsic Plasticity

AbstractEarly auditory experience is critical to the development of vocal communication. Zebra finches and other songbirds have a sensitive period when young birds memorize a song to use as a model for vocal production. We found that intrinsic spiking dynamics change dramatically during this period in the caudal mesopallium, a cortical-level auditory area. Specifically, the proportion of neurons that only fire transiently at the onset of intracellular current injections increases, along with Kv1.1, a channel that facilitates transient spiking. Plasticity is greater in males and requires exposure to a complex, noisy environment. These observations indicate that intrinsic dynamics are modulated in response to the acoustic environment to support robust auditory processing during a critical phase of vocal learning.

scholarly journals Identification and analysis of vocal communication pathways in birds through inducible gene expression

2004 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio V. Mello
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Early Gene ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Control Brain ◽  
Activity Dependent ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Inducible Gene

The immediate-early gene zenk is an activity-dependent gene highly induced in auditory processing or vocal motor control brain areas when birds engage in hearing or producing song, respectively. Studies of the expression of zenk in songbirds and other avian groups will be reviewed here briefly, with a focus on how this analysis has generated new insights on the brain pathways and mechanisms involved in perceptual and motor aspects of vocal communication and vocal learning.

AUDITORY EXPERIENCE DOES NOT SHAPE SEXUAL PREFERENCES FOR SONGS IN FEMALE NORTHERN CARDINALS

Behaviour ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayako Yamaguchi
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Memory Trace ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Song Type ◽  
Vocal Performance ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Song Types ◽  
Northern Cardinals

AbstractBird song is typically used by males to attract females. As a consequence of the vocal learning process, the acoustic morphology of male songs shows marked geographic variation. Whether females use variation in male songs to choose mates has been controversial (reviewed by Catchpole & Slater, 1995). In some species, the song types that females produce when treated hormonally have been considered to be the song types they prefer in the context of mate choice. To examine this notion, I investigated the song type preferences of female northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) using a more direct measure, copulation solicitation display. Unlike females of many other species of songbirds in the Temperate zone, female cardinals naturally develop songs by imitating adults just as males do, allowing direct identification of when and what song types are memorized by females for vocal production. I sought to determine if the memory trace formed for vocal performance is identical with the memory trace that guides song type preference in a sexual context, and whether females truly form any song type preference based on auditory experience during the first year of their lives. To address these questions, audio-video playback experiments were carried out on captive-raised adult cardinals whose complete auditory history was known. The results showed that female cardinals did not come to prefer any song type based on experience; they responded equally to all conspecific song types. Thus, memory formed for vocal production in females is not equal to song type preferred in sexual context. The results suggest that variation in song types is not important for mate choice in cardinals.

scholarly journals Towards a new taxonomy of primate vocal production learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Fischer ◽  
Kurt Hammerschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Auditory Comprehension ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Ontogenetic Trajectory ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Species Specific

The extent to which vocal learning can be found in nonhuman primates is key to reconstructing the evolution of speech. Regarding the adjustment of vocal output in relation to auditory experience (vocal production learning in the narrow sense), effects on the ontogenetic trajectory of vocal development as well as adjustment to group-specific call features have been found. Yet, a comparison of the vocalizations of different primate genera revealed striking similarities in the structure of calls and repertoires in different species of the same genus, indicating that the structure of nonhuman primate vocalizations is highly conserved. Thus, modifications in relation to experience only appear to be possible within relatively tight species-specific constraints. By contrast, comprehension learning may be extremely rapid and open-ended. In conjunction, these findings corroborate the idea of an ancestral independence of vocal production and auditory comprehension learning. To overcome the futile debate about whether or not vocal production learning can be found in nonhuman primates, we suggest putting the focus on the different mechanisms that may mediate the adjustment of vocal output in response to experience; these mechanisms may include auditory facilitation and learning from success. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals Long-lasting vocal plasticity in adult marmoset monkeys

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1905) ◽  
pp. 20190817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingyun Zhao ◽  
Bahar Boroumand Rad ◽  
Xiaoqin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Communication ◽  
New World ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Vocal Plasticity ◽  
Common Marmosets ◽  
World Primate

Humans exhibit a high level of vocal plasticity in speech production, which allows us to acquire both native and foreign languages and dialects, and adapt to local accents in social communication. In comparison, non-human primates exhibit limited vocal plasticity, especially in adulthood, which would limit their ability to adapt to different social and environmental contexts in vocal communication. Here, we quantitatively examined the ability of adult common marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus ), a highly vocal New World primate species, to modulate their vocal production in social contexts. While recent studies have demonstrated vocal learning in developing marmosets, we know much less about the extent of vocal learning and plasticity in adult marmosets. We found, in the present study, that marmosets were able to adaptively modify the spectrotemporal structure of their vocalizations when they encountered interfering sounds. Our experiments showed that marmosets shifted the spectrum of their vocalizations away from the spectrum of the interfering sounds in order to avoid the overlap. More interestingly, we found that marmosets made predictive and long-lasting spectral shifts in their vocalizations after they had experienced a particular type of interfering sound. These observations provided evidence for directional control of the vocalization spectrum and long-term vocal plasticity by adult marmosets. The findings reported here have important implications for the ability of this New World primate species in voluntarily and adaptively controlling their vocal production in social communication.

scholarly journals Auditory experience refines cortico-basal ganglia inputs to motor cortex via remapping of single axons during vocal learning in zebra finches

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 1142-1156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa C. Miller-Sims ◽  
Sarah W. Bottjer
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Song Learning ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Cortical Region ◽  
Topographic Organization ◽  
Magnocellular Nucleus ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Dependent Processes

Experience-dependent changes in neural connectivity underlie developmental learning and result in life-long changes in behavior. In songbirds axons from the cortical region LMANcore (core region of lateral magnocellular nucleus of anterior nidopallium) convey the output of a basal ganglia circuit necessary for song learning to vocal motor cortex [robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA)]. This axonal projection undergoes remodeling during the sensitive period for learning to achieve topographic organization. To examine how auditory experience instructs the development of connectivity in this pathway, we compared the morphology of individual LMANcore→RA axon arbors in normal juvenile songbirds to those raised in white noise. The spatial extent of axon arbors decreased during the first week of vocal learning, even in the absence of normal auditory experience. During the second week of vocal learning axon arbors of normal birds showed a loss of branches and varicosities; in contrast, experience-deprived birds showed no reduction in branches or varicosities and maintained some arbors in the wrong topographic location. Thus both experience-independent and experience-dependent processes are necessary to establish topographic organization in juvenile birds, which may allow birds to modify their vocal output in a directed manner and match their vocalizations to a tutor song. Many LMANcore axons of juvenile birds, but not adults, extended branches into dorsal arcopallium (Ad), a region adjacent to RA that is part of a parallel basal ganglia pathway also necessary for vocal learning. This transient projection provides a point of integration between the two basal ganglia pathways, suggesting that these branches convey corollary discharge signals as birds are actively engaged in learning.

The frame/content theory of evolution of speech production

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter F. MacNeilage
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
External Input ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Species Specific

The species-specific organizational property of speech is a continual mouth open-close alternation, the two phases of which are subject to continual articulatory modulation. The cycle constitutes the syllable, and the open and closed phases are segments – vowels and consonants, respectively. The fact that segmental serial ordering errors in normal adults obey syllable structure constraints suggests that syllabic “frames” and segmental “content” elements are separately controlled in the speech production process. The frames may derive from cycles of mandibular oscillation present in humans from babbling onset, which are responsible for the open-close alternation. These communication- related frames perhaps first evolved when the ingestion-related cyclicities of mandibular oscillation (associated with mastication [chewing] sucking and licking) took on communicative significance as lipsmacks, tonguesmacks, and teeth chatters – displays that are prominent in many nonhuman primates. The new role of Broca's area and its surround in human vocal communication may have derived from its evolutionary history as the main cortical center for the control of ingestive processes. The frame and content components of speech may have subsequently evolved separate realizations within two general purpose primate motor control systems: (1) a motivation-related medial “intrinsic” system, including anterior cingulate cortex and the supplementary motor area, for self-generated behavior, formerly responsible for ancestral vocalization control and now also responsible for frames, and (2) a lateral “extrinsic” system, including Broca's area and surround, and Wernicke's area, specialized for response to external input (and therefore the emergent vocal learning capacity) and more responsible for content.

The impact of the acoustic environment on human emotion and experience: A case study of worship spaces

2022 ◽  
pp. 1351010X2110688
Author(s):  
Alaa Algargoosh ◽  
Babak Soleimani ◽  
Sile O’Modhrain ◽  
Mojtaba Navvab
Keyword(s):  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
The Impact

People’s interactions with the environment shape their experiences. Thus, understanding these interactions is critical to enhancing human well-being. Aural attributes play a significant role in shaping the perception of space in addition to visual attributes. It is well known that sounds evoke an emotional response, but less is known about how the acoustic characteristics of environments reinforce such an emotional impact. By adopting virtual reality as a platform for recreating 3D sounds and 360° visuals of built environments of worship spaces as case studies, this study aims to investigate the influence of the acoustic environment considering audiovisual congruency on enhancing the human experience through self-report and physiological response analysis. It also examines the role of cultural background in terms of familiarity with the acoustic environment. The convergent mixed-methods approach, merging both quantitative and qualitative analysis, provides a deep understanding of the role of the acoustic environment in enhancing the auditory experience. The results show that the acoustic environment and audiovisual congruency amplify the intensity of the emotional impact, and the amplification of the impact can vary depending on the acoustic environment of the building. They also reveal that familiarity with sound and acoustic characteristics can increase this impact.

scholarly journals Vocal production learning in the pale spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus discolor

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 20190928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ella Z. Lattenkamp ◽  
Sonja C. Vernes ◽  
Lutz Wiegrebe
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Acoustic Signals ◽  
Auditory Target ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Learning Capacity ◽  
Directional Change ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Phyllostomus Discolor

Vocal production learning (VPL), or the ability to modify vocalizations through the imitation of sounds, is a rare trait in the animal kingdom. While humans are exceptional vocal learners, few other mammalian species share this trait. Owing to their singular ecology and lifestyle, bats are highly specialized for the precise emission and reception of acoustic signals. This specialization makes them ideal candidates for the study of vocal learning, and several bat species have previously shown evidence supportive of vocal learning. Here we use a sophisticated automated set-up and a contingency training paradigm to explore the vocal learning capacity of pale spear-nosed bats. We show that these bats are capable of directional change of the fundamental frequency of their calls according to an auditory target. With this study, we further highlight the importance of bats for the study of vocal learning and provide evidence for the VPL capacity of the pale spear-nosed bat.

scholarly journals Acoustical Enrichment during Early Development Improves Response Reliability in the Adult Auditory Cortex of the Rat

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zbyněk Bureš ◽  
Kateryna Pysanenko ◽  
Jiří Lindovský ◽  
Josef Syka
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Phase Locking ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Rat Pups ◽  
Temporal Course ◽  
Rate Coding ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Discharge Patterns

It is well known that auditory experience during early development shapes response properties of auditory cortex (AC) neurons, influencing, for example, tonotopical arrangement, response thresholds and strength, or frequency selectivity. Here, we show that rearing rat pups in a complex acoustically enriched environment leads to an increased reliability of responses of AC neurons, affecting both the rate and the temporal codes. For a repetitive stimulus, the neurons exhibit a lower spike count variance, indicating a more stable rate coding. At the level of individual spikes, the discharge patterns of individual neurons show a higher degree of similarity across stimulus repetitions. Furthermore, the neurons follow more precisely the temporal course of the stimulus, as manifested by improved phase-locking to temporally modulated sounds. The changes are persistent and present up to adulthood. The results document that besides basic alterations of receptive fields presented in our previous study, the acoustic environment during the critical period of postnatal development also leads to a decreased stochasticity and a higher reproducibility of neuronal spiking patterns.

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