Abstract
The song of the adult male zebra finch is strikingly stereotyped. Efforts to understand motor output, pattern generation, and learning have taken advantage of this consistency by investigating the bird’s ability to modify specific parts of song under external cues, and by examining timing relationships between neural activity and vocal output. Such experiments require that precise moments during song be identified in real time as the bird sings. Various syllable-detection methods exist, but many require special hardware, software, and know-how, and details on their implementation and performance are scarce. We present an accurate, versatile, and fast syllable detector that can control hardware at precisely timed moments during zebra finch song. Many moments during song can be isolated and detected with false negative and false positive rates well under 1% and 0.005% respectively. The detector can run on a stock Mac Mini with triggering delay of less than a millisecond and a jitter of σ ≈ 2 milliseconds.
Highlights
The adult zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) sings a song made up of 2–6 syllables, with longer songs taking on the order of a second
A common area of study with song-triggered experiments is the anterior forebrain pathway (AFP), a homologue of mammalian basal ganglia consisting of a few distinct brain areas concerned with the learning and production of song
Stimulation of the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (LMAN)—the output nucleus of the AFP—at precisely timed moments during song showed that this area controls specific variables in song output [1]
Summary
The adult zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) sings a song made up of 2–6 syllables, with longer songs taking on the order of a second. Several brain areas reflect this consistency in highly stereotyped neural firing patterns, which makes the zebra finch one of the most popular models for the study of the neural basis of learning, audition, and control. If precise moments in song can reliably be detected quickly enough to trigger other apparatus during singing, this consistency of behaviour allows a variety of experiments. A common area of study with song-triggered experiments is the anterior forebrain pathway (AFP), a homologue of mammalian basal ganglia consisting of a few distinct brain areas concerned with the learning and production of song. Stimulation of the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (LMAN)—the output nucleus of the AFP—at precisely timed moments during song showed that this area controls specific variables in song output [1].
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