Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Laney Graduate School, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
Abigail L Grassler
Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, United States
Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Songbirds and humans share the ability to adaptively modify their vocalizations based on sensory feedback. Prior studies have focused primarily on the role that auditory feedback plays in shaping vocal output throughout life. In contrast, it is unclear how non-auditory information drives vocal plasticity. Here, we first used a reinforcement learning paradigm to establish that somatosensory feedback (cutaneous electrical stimulation) can drive vocal learning in adult songbirds. We then assessed the role of a songbird basal ganglia thalamocortical pathway critical to auditory vocal learning in this novel form of vocal plasticity. We found that both this circuit and its dopaminergic inputs are necessary for non-auditory vocal learning, demonstrating that this pathway is critical for guiding adaptive vocal changes based on both auditory and somatosensory signals. The ability of this circuit to use both auditory and somatosensory information to guide vocal learning may reflect a general principle for the neural systems that support vocal plasticity across species.
