title: Motor origin of precise synaptic inputs onto forebrain neurons driving a skilled behavior.
abstract: Sensory feedback is crucial for learning and performing many behaviors, but its role in the execution of complex motor sequences is poorly understood. To address this, we consider the forebrain nucleus HVC in the songbird, which contains the premotor circuitry for song production and receives multiple convergent sensory inputs. During singing, projection neurons within HVC exhibit precisely timed synaptic events that may represent the ongoing motor program or song-related sensory feedback. To distinguish between these possibilities, we recorded the membrane potential from identified HVC projection neurons in singing zebra finches. External auditory perturbations during song production did not affect synaptic inputs in these neurons. Furthermore, the systematic removal of three sensory feedback streams (auditory, proprioceptive, and vagal) did not alter the frequency or temporal precision of synaptic activity observed. These findings support a motor origin for song-related synaptic events and suggest an updated circuit model for generating behavioral sequences.
authors.affiliation: NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York 10016 and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7518-0566
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vallentin
authors.affiliation: NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York 10016 and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003 mlong@med.nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Long
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D005260:Female; D046369:Finches; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000502:physiology*; D020308:Songbirds; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: birdsong; intracellular recording; premotor; sequence generation