title: Population-Level Representation of a Temporal Sequence Underlying Song Production in the Zebra Finch.
abstract: The zebra finch brain features a set of clearly defined and hierarchically arranged motor nuclei that are selectively responsible for producing singing behavior. One of these regions, a critical forebrain structure called HVC, contains premotor neurons that are active at precise time points during song production. However, the neural representation of this behavior at a population level remains elusive. We used two-photon microscopy to monitor ensemble activity during singing, integrating across multiple trials by adopting a Bayesian inference approach to more precisely estimate burst timing. Additionally, we examined spiking and motor-related synaptic inputs using intracellular recordings during singing. With both experimental approaches, we find that premotor events do not occur preferentially at the onsets or offsets of song syllables or at specific subsyllabic motor landmarks. These results strongly support the notion that HVC projection neurons collectively exhibit a temporal sequence during singing that is uncoupled from ongoing movements.
authors.affiliation: New York University Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Michel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Picardo
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Grossman Center for the Statistics of Mind, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Josh
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Merel
authors.affiliation: New York University Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Kalman A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Katlowitz
authors.affiliation: New York University Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vallentin
authors.affiliation: New York University Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Okobi
authors.affiliation: New York University Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Sam E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Benezra
authors.affiliation: New York University Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Clary
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Grossman Center for the Statistics of Mind, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Simons Center for Data Analysis, Simons Foundation, New York, NY 10010, USA.
authors.forename: Eftychios A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Pnevmatikakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics and Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Grossman Center for the Statistics of Mind, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Liam
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Paninski
authors.affiliation: New York University Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA. Electronic address: mlong@med.nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Long
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D046369:Finches / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000502:physiology*; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology*