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Contributions of an avian basal ganglia–forebrain circuit to real-time modulation of song
TLDR
A previously unappreciated capacity of the AFP to direct real-time changes in song is demonstrated and frontal cortical and basal ganglia areas may contribute to motor learning by biasing motor output towards desired targets or by introducing stochastic variability required for reinforcement learning.
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Lesions of an avian basal ganglia circuit prevent context-dependent changes to song variability.
TLDR
It is suggested that a key function of avian basal ganglia circuitry is to regulate vocal performance and plasticity by specifically modulating moment-by-moment variability in the structure of individual song elements.
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Interruption of a basal ganglia–forebrain circuit prevents plasticity of learned vocalizations
TLDR
These findings provide evidence that cortical-basal ganglia circuits may participate in the evaluation of sensory feedback during calibration of motor performance, and demonstrate that damage to such circuits can have little effect on previously learned behaviour while conspicuously disrupting the capacity to adaptively modify that behaviour.
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Experience-dependent plasticity in the inferior colliculus: a site for visual calibration of the neural representation of auditory space in the barn owl
TLDR
The results indicate that the visual instruction of auditory spatial tuning of neurons in the optic tectum reflects plasticity at the level of the ICx, the site where the auditory map of space is first synthesized.
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Performance variability enables adaptive plasticity of ‘crystallized’ adult birdsong
TLDR
The results suggest that residual variability in well learned skills is not entirely noise but rather reflects meaningful motor exploration that can support continuous learning and optimization of performance.
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What songbirds teach us about learning
TLDR
With the discovery and investigation of discrete brain structures required for singing, songbirds are providing insights into neural mechanisms of learning and are addressing such basic issues in neuroscience as perceptual and sensorimotor learning, developmental regulation of plasticity, and the control and function of adult neurogenesis.
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Auditory feedback in learning and maintenance of vocal behaviour
TLDR
Some of the processes that contribute to song learning and production are reviewed, with an emphasis on the role of auditory feedback and some of the possible neural substrates involved in these processes, particularly basal ganglia circuitry.
View on Springer
Translating birdsong: songbirds as a model for basic and applied medical research.
TLDR
Behavioral and mechanistic parallels between birdsong and aspects of speech and social communication are highlighted, including insights into mirror neurons, the function of auditory feedback, and genes underlying social communication disorders.
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Mechanisms and time course of vocal learning and consolidation in the adult songbird.
TLDR
The results indicate that NMDA receptor-dependent transmission from LMAN to RA plays an essential role in the initial expression of two distinct forms of vocal learning and that this role gradually wanes over a multiday process of consolidation.
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Postlearning Consolidation of Birdsong: Stabilizing Effects of Age and Anterior Forebrain Lesions
Birdsong is a learned, sequenced motor skill. For the zebra finch, learned song normally remains unchanging beyond early adulthood. However, stable adult song will gradually deteriorate after…
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