Abstract
Song production in songbirds is controlled by a network of nuclei distributed across several brain regions, which drives respiratory and vocal motor systems to generate sound. We built a model for birdsong production, whose variables are the average activities of different neural populations within these nuclei of the song system. We focus on the predictions of respiratory patterns of song, because these can be easily measured and therefore provide a validation for the model. We test the hypothesis that it is possible to construct a model in which (1) the activity of an expiratory related (ER) neural population fits the observed pressure patterns used by canaries during singing, and (2) a higher forebrain neural population, HVC, is sparsely active, simultaneously with significant motor instances of the pressure patterns. We show that in order to achieve these two requirements, the ER neural population needs to receive two inputs: a direct one, and its copy after being processed by other areas of the song system. The model is capable of reproducing the measured respiratory patterns and makes specific predictions on the timing of HVC activity during their production. These results suggest that vocal production is controlled by a circular network rather than by a simple top-down architecture.
Highlights
One of the fundamental problems in motor control is how the instructions for controlling the peripheral effectors are encoded in the central nervous system (Churchland et al, 2012)
Pulsatile patterns consist of sustained expiratory pressure pulses, which display small modulations where each peak corresponds to a sound pulse
The first input originates from a neural population, and the second represents a copy of this initial drive processed by telencephalic centers and contains a time delay
Summary
One of the fundamental problems in motor control is how the instructions for controlling the peripheral effectors are encoded in the central nervous system (Churchland et al, 2012). The peripheral structures generating the behavior are sufficiently understood (Suthers et al, 1999), allowing assessment of the output of the central nervous system. This output is the set of time dependent parameters that control the respiratory rhythm and the vocal organ, the syrinx. Parambigualis (PAm) and the syringeal motor nucleus (nXIIts) These hindbrain structures are connected to n. Uvaeformis (Uva) and the dorsomedial nucleus (DM), which in turn provide a direct or indirect connection to HVC (Ashmore et al, 2005) In this system we can systematically study how different parts of the brain participate in birdsong production
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