Control of fundamental frequency in zebra finch vocal behavior

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Control of fundamental frequency in zebra finch vocal behavior Franz Goller1* and Tobias Riede1 1 University of Utah, Biology, United States In the avian syrinx generates sound by flow-induced tissue (labia or membrane) oscillations. The fundamental frequency of sound (F0) arises from a complex interplay of biomechanical and aerodynamic properties as well as neural control of syringeal movements and respiration. Each variable affects labial position and tension either directly or indirectly, and synchronously or independently. In the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), song syllables with low F0 are pulse-tone like and are generated by both sound sources, whereas high-frequency syllables are tonal and are generated by the right side of the syrinx. It has been suggested that these different vibratory modes arise from different dynamical regimes (Sitt et al., Physical Rev E 78,011905, 2008). No major asymmetries exist in the extracellular matrix or size of the left and right labia (Riede et al., PLoS One 5, e11368), suggesting that difference in F0 of the two sides involves aerodynamic and neural mechanisms. Here we investigate the respective roles of all contributing variables in setting F0 of different zebra finch sounds. Ventral syringeal muscle activity increases with increasing F0 for the pulse-tone syllables. For high-frequency syllables, activation is maximal, but is not correlated with differences in F0. The activity of other syringeal muscles (dorsal syringeal, ventral tracheobronchial and dorsal tracheobronchial) shows a similar relationship with F0, indicating that synergistic activation patterns cannot explain F0-control for high-frequency syllables. The possibility that active closing of the left side generates a biomechanical gearing of the effect of right-side tension control by muscles can also be eliminated. Denervation of the left syringeal muscles does not consistently change F0 of right-side generated syllables. The effect of air sac pressure on F0 was investigated by bilateral denervation of the syringeal muscles. F0 increases slightly with increasing air sac pressure (approx. 20-45 Hz per kPa) if neural control of labial tension and position is eliminated. We then asked whether zebra finches compensate for the increase in F0 at higher air sac pressures through muscle control when they vocalize with different sound amplitude. Changes in song amplitude arise from differences in air sac pressure and can be induced by the Lombard effect or by experimentally reducing expiratory volume of air. In both manipulations the air sac pressure changes are accompanied by corresponding changes in F0. The changes in F0 are larger in high-frequency syllables than in low-frequency harmonic stacks. These results suggest that zebra finches do not adjust muscular control of labial tension to compensate for this effect of air sac pressure on F0. These results illustrate how aerodynamic effects and neural control of labial tension interact in setting F0 of song syllables. However, tension control for the high-frequency modal sounds is still not fully understood. Although we can eliminate some hypotheses (gearing, muscle synergies), the precise control mechanism is still unknown. Acknowledgements: supported by NIDCD 06876. Keywords: birdsong, frequency control Conference: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation (see alternatives below as well) Topic: Sensorimotor Integration Citation: Goller F and Riede T (2012). Control of fundamental frequency in zebra finch vocal behavior. Conference Abstract: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00367 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 01 May 2012; Published Online: 07 Jul 2012. * Correspondence: Dr. Franz Goller, University of Utah, Biology, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, United States, goller@biology.utah.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Franz Goller Tobias Riede Google Franz Goller Tobias Riede Google Scholar Franz Goller Tobias Riede PubMed Franz Goller Tobias Riede Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.