Songbirds can learn flexible contextual control over syllable sequencing

Veit, Lena; Tian, Lucas Y; Hernandez, Christian Monroy; Brainard, Michael S.

doi:10.1101/2020.08.05.238717

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Thus we provide the first evidence of selectivity and experience driven plasticity of representation of behaviourally relevant structure of entire sequence of sounds as a whole and not the components, in mice, akin to that in the songbird 37,78 . Our results open up the possibility of establishing mouse communication as a model to study context based speech like communications with a set of components with predictive ordering, dependent on context 13,38,39,40 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Social experience dependent plasticity of mouse song selectivity without that of song components

Agarwalla

Bandyopadhyay

2021

Preprint

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Syllable sequences in male mouse ultrasonic-vocalizations (USVs), “songs”, contain structure -quantified through predictability, like birdsong and aspects of speech. Apparent USV innateness and lack of learnability, discount mouse USVs for modelling speech-like social communication and its deficits. Informative contextual natural sequences (SN) were theoretically extracted and they were preferred by female mice. Primary auditory cortex (A1) supragranular neurons show differential selectivity to the same syllables in SN and random sequences (SR). Excitatory neurons (EXNs) in females showed increases in selectivity to whole SNs over SRs based on extent of social exposure with male, but syllable selectivity remained unchanged. Thus mouse A1 single neurons adaptively represent entire order of acoustic units without altering selectivity of individual units, fundamental to speech perception. Additionally, observed plasticity was replicated with silencing of somatostatin positive neurons, which had plastic effects opposite to EXNs, thus pointing out possible pathways involved in perception of sound sequences.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Social experience dependent plasticity of mouse song selectivity without that of song components

Agarwalla

Bandyopadhyay

2021

Preprint

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“…Conversely, rapid adaptation in response to changing environmental contexts has been demonstrated in both birdsong [80–82] and human speech [83]. This apparent plasticity of a well learned, crystalized behavior suggests that vocalization may be controlled by a “malleable template,” in which trial-by-trial variability is used to adapt learned behaviors [84].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive Multi-Objective Control Explains How Humans Make Lateral Maneuvers While Walking

Desmet

Cusumano

Dingwell

2022

Preprint

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To successfully traverse their environment, humans must often perform maneuvers to achieve desired task goals while simultaneously maintaining balance. Humans accomplish these tasks primarily by modulating their foot placements. As humans are more unstable laterally, we must better understand how humans modulate lateral foot placement. We previously developed a theoretical framework and corresponding computational models to describe how humans regulate lateral stepping during straight-ahead continuous walking. This framework yields goal functions for step width and lateral body position that define the walking task and determine the set of all possible task solutions as Goal Equivalent Manifolds (GEMs). Here, we used this framework to determine if humans can regulate lateral stepping during non-steady-state lateral maneuvers by minimizing errors in accordance with these goal functions. Twenty young healthy adults each performed four lateral lane-change maneuvers in a virtual reality environment. Within our general lateral stepping regulation framework, we first re-examined the requirements of such transient walking tasks. Doing so yielded new theoretical predictions regarding how steps during any such maneuver should be regulated to minimize error costs, consistent with the goals required at each step and with how these costs are adapted at each step during the maneuver. Humans performed the experimental lateral maneuvers in a manner consistent with our theoretical predictions. Furthermore, their stepping behavior was well modeled by merely adapting the parameters of our previous lateral stepping models from step to step. To our knowledge, our results are the first to demonstrate humans can use evolving cost landscapes in real time to perform such an adaptive motor task and, furthermore, that such adaptation can occur quickly – over only one step. Thus, the predictive capabilities of our general stepping regulation framework extend to a much greater range of walking tasks beyond just normal, straight-ahead walking.

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“…It has been established that negative reinforcement paradigms can be used to induce precisely timed changes in syllabic pitch or the sequencing of a finch’s song (Sober & Brainard, 2009; Tumer & Brainard, 2007). Recently, Veit, Tian, Hernandez, and Brainard (2018) have combined pitch learning and syllable sequence learning paradigms with a context-specific learning paradigm. In their study they pair different context cues (color of cage illumination) with opposite directions of pitch reinforcement and demonstrate that the finches can learn to shift the pitch of a single song syllable upward in one cue context but downward in the other cue context.…”

Section: A Role For the Cerebellum In The Neuroethology Of Birdsongmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding cerebellum in vertebrate neuroethology: From sensing in sharks and electric fish to motor sequences in movement and birdsong.

Montgomery

Perks

2019

Behavioral Neuroscience

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The elaborate structure of the cerebellum has been long known, although its contribution to a remarkable diversity of behavior is only recently appreciated. Taking an evolutionary perspective, we consider the wider function of the cerebellum based on insight from the function of so-called cerebellum-like structures. Cerebellum-like structures cancel the effects of self-stimulation, a function that has been well characterized in both elasmobranch and weakly electric fish. This function depends on the implementation of an adaptive filter, which provides an input-output transformation modified by specific learning rules. We argue that the broad contribution of the cerebellum to behavior can be understood by thinking of the cerebellum as an array of adaptive filters that can be coopted to a wide range of tasks. Consistent with this, studies of mammalian cerebellum reveal operations characteristic of an adaptive filter, which we review here. We then describe a model for how a cerebellar adaptive filter architecture could interact with central pattern generators and sensory feedback to coordinate sequentially patterned behavior. Finally, we use the acquisition and production of complex vocal motor sequencing in birdsong as an example to explore how this model of cerebellar adaptive filter–central pattern generator interactions may contribute to other important domains of vertebrate neuroethology.

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Songbirds can learn flexible contextual control over syllable sequencing

Cited by 4 publications

References 78 publications

Social experience dependent plasticity of mouse song selectivity without that of song components

Social experience dependent plasticity of mouse song selectivity without that of song components

Adaptive Multi-Objective Control Explains How Humans Make Lateral Maneuvers While Walking

Understanding cerebellum in vertebrate neuroethology: From sensing in sharks and electric fish to motor sequences in movement and birdsong.

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