2000 — 2009 |
Goller, Franz |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Neuromuscular Control and Motor Integration of Birdsong
The goal of this research is to continue the investigation of motor coordination of song production in songbirds. The main focus will be on aspects of song production and modification that have received little or no attention to date. The various peripheral motor patterns will be studied in spontaneously singing birds with a set of well-established techniques, including recording of airflow and respiratory pressure, electrical activity of muscles and beak movements. To investigate the integration of beak movements into the motor control of song production, beak movements will be recorded during song development and again after song has become stereotyped. In addition, the role of the jaw muscles effecting these movements will be investigated for the first time. The dependence of beak movements on acoustic feedback will be studied by manipulating song output. The investigation into the detailed role of the muscle systems controlling the two independent sound generators will be continued by completing electromyographic recordings in two species. In addition to elucidating the role of syringeal muscles in the generation of various sounds, this research will allow the first assessment of whether different individuals can generate similar sounds using different combinations of muscle activation patterns or whether constraints dictate a certain pattern. Finally, the physiological and histological characteristics of the various muscles involved in sound generation and modification will be investigated for the first time. This information will be very important in assessing the peripheral constraints on temporal and acoustic modulation of song. Knowing the limits of the peripheral systems will then allow inferences about necessary features, such as temporal precision and coordination, of the central motor control systems. An additional level of complexity in motor coordination will be explored in the brown-headed cowbird by studying the development of the intricate integration between the complex visual display and song. Together these experiments will advance our knowledge of peripheral motor events that lead to the production of song in songbirds. Because singing is a complex, learned vocal behavior with many parallels to human speech and singing, the results of the proposed experiments will not only further our basic knowledge about motor control but also enhance our understanding of similarities and differences between this animal model system and the human system.
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1 |
2005 — 2008 |
Goller, Franz |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Mechanism For Producing Complex Sounds
[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of our proposed research is to understand the mechanisms involved in the generation of complex sounds, which can be found in the songs of many birds, and to unveil the role of the peripheral system in this process. As an initial step, the physiological parameters (electromyograms of syringeal muscles, tracheal and bronchial airflow data) will be described for the full range of acoustic characteristics in the songs of three species, zebra finch, brown-headed cowbird and European starling. Based on these data, models of sound generation in the avian vocal organ, the syrinx, will be developed and experimentally tested in order to elucidate the physical processes underlying this acoustic versatility. Following this integrated approach, the focus will be on nontrivial acoustic features, which are present in the songs of the selected species. Electromyographic recordings of syringeal muscles in these birds will reveal the degree to which neural instructions can account for the generation of complex sounds. We will test the hypotheses that complex sounds arise from acoustic interaction between the two sound sources of the syrinx and from feedback pressure onto labial vibration by a combination of modeling and experimental tests. The proposed research is a comprehensive integrative approach to illuminate the peripheral physical mechanisms of birdsong production. The results will inform about the degree to which the peripheral system can give rise to complex acoustic behavior without parallel complexity in the neural control. This research will provide valuable insight into the link between neural control, peripheral interactions and learned vocal behavior in birds and, therefore, explore issues that are also of significance for our understanding of human speech production and motor control. [unreadable] [unreadable]
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1 |
2010 — 2014 |
Goller, Franz |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Mechanisms For Producing Complex Sounds
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed research aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the motor mechanisms involved in the generation of complex sounds. Particular emphasis is placed on the most widely used animal model system for learned vocal behavior, the zebra finch, whose song is characterized by a broad range of acoustic features from tonal sounds to complex spectral content. A combination and interaction of theoretical and experimental approaches is used to unravel the peripheral mechanisms of generation of this range of sound characteristics. The interactive approach involves recording of physiological data (electromyograms and air sac pressure) to drive the models and syringeal muscle stimulation experiments to test predictions of the modeling work. Based on these refinements of the computational approach, a prototype of an electronic syrinx, implementing the differential equations of the models, will be modified to reproduce zebra finch song. This electronic syrinx will be controlled by the neural instructions for song production (muscle activation patterns and respiratory pressure), which can be monitored in the singing bird and used for on-line generation of sound. This subject-controlled vocal prosthesis is then used to generate acoustic output in muted birds, with the potential for experimentally manipulating song characteristics, to test which acoustic features are required as information from auditory feedback for maintenance of song.
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