The neural basis of online error correction

Emory University, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

A central question in neuroscience is how the brain detects and corrects errors in behavior. This type of error correction is essential for the learning and performance of complex tasks such as speaking and using tools, and deficits of error correction resulting from neurological diseases can have devastating effects on the ability of an individual to interact with the world. This research will examine the mechanisms by which the brain corrects errors in vocal behavior. By building mathematical models of how the brain detects and eliminates errors in performance and by directly recording the electrical activity of individual brain cells, these studies will provide novel insights into this key aspect of brain function. Additionally, the investigators will develop course materials based on their research to be used to enhance science education in underserved communities in the Atlanta area. The benefit to society of this work is therefore twofold: it will reveal previously unknown mechanisms of brain function and will improve the general public's understanding of neurobiology. The proposed experiments combine a range of experimental approaches to test a simple model of how the brain rapidly corrects errors in behavior. The central hypothesis is that the brain is able to rapidly correct errors in vocal behavior because brain cells that control the vocal output are affected by the sensory (auditory) feedback arising from vocal output. By collecting electrical recordings of single brain cells during both vocal behavior and auditory stimulation, experiments in Aim 1 will compare the sensory tuning (the tuning for the pitch of a recently-heard syllable) and motor tuning (effect on the pitch of vocal output) of neurons that control behavior. Studies in Aim 2 will use lesions and reversible inactivations to selectively eliminate auditory input to premotor neurons, thereby facilitating tests of the hypothesis that such sensory inputs are required for rapid online error correction.