A transgenic songbird to image brain premotor sequence

California Institute Of Technology, Pasadena CA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The neural mechanisms underlying learned motor behaviors are one of the least understood aspects of neuroscience, yet treatment of motor deficits after injury or disease is a significant clinical need. A better understanding of the organization of motor control could lead to effective treatments that provide enhancements of motor plasticity, or brain machine interfaces for functional restoration. However, at the cellular level, little is known about how brain circuits are able to learn and reproduce temporal sequences. One the greatest challenges involved in investigating natural motor control is the lack of repeatability of the learned motor skill. To image neuronal activity during the execution o a highly complex, yet stereotyped, behavior we propose to develop a transgenic songbird expressing the genetically-encoded Ca++ indicator GCaMP6. We will use the zebra finch, a species that learns to produce an extremely stereotyped song pattern, with strikingly small trial-to trial variations. Thus, this system provides a rare model from which to tightly correlate functional changes in neuronal activity to specific and readily measurable behavioral changes. Uncovering principles relating motor behavior and cell type specific circuit activity will provide key insights governing sensory-motor learning, adaptive plasticity in response to injury, and also provide insights for the development of next generation brain-machine interfaces.