Reafferent thalamo- "cortical" loops in the song system of oscine songbirds - PubMed

Affiliations

• PMID: 9100137

Reafferent thalamo- "cortical" loops in the song system of oscine songbirds

G E Vates et al. J Comp Neurol. 1997.

Abstract

Songbirds have a complex vocal repertoire, much of which is learned by imitation. The vocal motor system of songbirds includes a set of telencephalic pathways dedicated to the acquisition and production of learned song. The main vocal motor pathway goes from the high vocal center (HVC) to the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA), which in turn innervates mesencephalic and medullary nuclei involved in vocalization. We used neural tract tracers (biotinylated dextran amines, fluorescein- and rhodamine-linked dextran amines, and Fluorogold) to show that RA of adult male canaries (Serinus canaria) and zebra finches (taeniopygia guttata) sends an ipsilateral projection to the posterior portion of the dorsomedial thalamic nucleus (DMP). DMP projects to the medial portion of the magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (mMAN), which is known to project to HVC, forming a feedback circuit. We also observed that the projection from DMP to mMAN is bilateral. Extracellular multi-unit recordings from awake restrained subjects have demonstrated that mMAN has auditory responses that are selective for the bird's own song. These auditory responses are similar to responses recorded simultaneously in HVC, but with a longer latency, suggesting that mMAN receives auditory information from HVC through the circuit we have described. We also saw a weaker projection from RA to the medial part of the dorsolateral nucleus of the thalamus (DLM), which is known to project to the lateral portion of the magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (IMAN). IMAN is known to project to RA, completing yet another feedback circuit; IMAN is also part of the anterior forebrain pathway, which plays an essential role in song learning. These thalamo-telencephalic circuits are similar to the thalamo-cortical circuits found in mammalian motor systems, and we suggest that the signals carried by these loops may be important for song perception, song learning, song production, and/or the bilateral coordination of vocal motor commands.

Similar articles

• Connections of a motor cortical region in zebra finches: relation to pathways for vocal learning.

  Bottjer SW, Brady JD, Cribbs B. Bottjer SW, et al. J Comp Neurol. 2000 May 1;420(2):244-60. J Comp Neurol. 2000. PMID: 10753310

• Topographic organization of a forebrain pathway involved with vocal learning in zebra finches.

  Johnson F, Sablan MM, Bottjer SW. Johnson F, et al. J Comp Neurol. 1995 Jul 24;358(2):260-78. doi: 10.1002/cne.903580208. J Comp Neurol. 1995. PMID: 7560286

• Axonal connections of a forebrain nucleus involved with vocal learning in zebra finches.

  Bottjer SW, Halsema KA, Brown SA, Miesner EA. Bottjer SW, et al. J Comp Neurol. 1989 Jan 8;279(2):312-26. doi: 10.1002/cne.902790211. J Comp Neurol. 1989. PMID: 2464011

• Song- and order-selective neurons develop in the songbird anterior forebrain during vocal learning.

  Doupe AJ, Solis MM. Doupe AJ, et al. J Neurobiol. 1997 Nov;33(5):694-709. J Neurobiol. 1997. PMID: 9369467 Review.

• Birth, migration, incorporation, and death of vocal control neurons in adult songbirds.

  Alvarez-Buylla A, Kirn JR. Alvarez-Buylla A, et al. J Neurobiol. 1997 Nov;33(5):585-601. J Neurobiol. 1997. PMID: 9369461 Review.

Cited by

• Millisecond timescale disinhibition mediates fast information transmission through an avian basal ganglia loop.

  Leblois A, Bodor AL, Person AL, Perkel DJ. Leblois A, et al. J Neurosci. 2009 Dec 9;29(49):15420-33. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3060-09.2009. J Neurosci. 2009. PMID: 20007467 Free PMC article.

• The neural basis of birdsong.

  Nottebohm F. Nottebohm F. PLoS Biol. 2005 May;3(5):e164. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030164. Epub 2005 May 17. PLoS Biol. 2005. PMID: 15884976 Free PMC article.

• Brain expression and song regulation of the cholecystokinin gene in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata).

  Lovell PV, Mello CV. Lovell PV, et al. J Comp Neurol. 2011 Feb 1;519(2):211-37. doi: 10.1002/cne.22513. J Comp Neurol. 2011. PMID: 21165972 Free PMC article.

• Covert skill learning in a cortical-basal ganglia circuit.

  Charlesworth JD, Warren TL, Brainard MS. Charlesworth JD, et al. Nature. 2012 May 20;486(7402):251-5. doi: 10.1038/nature11078. Nature. 2012. PMID: 22699618 Free PMC article.

• Song decrystallization in adult zebra finches does not require the song nucleus NIf.

  Roy A, Mooney R. Roy A, et al. J Neurophysiol. 2009 Aug;102(2):979-91. doi: 10.1152/jn.00293.2009. Epub 2009 Jun 10. J Neurophysiol. 2009. PMID: 19515953 Free PMC article.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

• Full Text Sources

  • Wiley