Plasticity of stereotyped birdsong driven by chronic manipulation of cortical-basal ganglia activity.

ABSTRACT: Cortical-basal ganglia (CBG) circuits are critical for motor learning and performance, and are a major site of pathology. In songbirds, a CBG circuit regulates moment-by-moment variability in song and also enables song plasticity. Studies have shown that variable burst firing in LMAN, the output nucleus of this CBG circuit, actively drives acute song variability, but whether and how LMAN drives long-lasting changes in song remains unclear. Here, we ask whether chronic pharmacological augmentation of LMAN bursting is sufficient to drive plasticity in birds singing stereotyped songs. We show that altered LMAN activity drives cumulative changes in acoustic structure, timing, and sequencing over multiple days, and induces repetitions and silent pauses reminiscent of human stuttering. Changes p

SUBMITTER: Moorman S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8222193 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature