Tag: zebra finch

University of Massachusetts at Amherst neuroscientists who are studying the intricate mechanisms of hearing in the brain’s auditory cortex, report that a major research question has been how a listener can focus in a noisy environment, and how neurochemicals help neurons convey as much embedded information as possible for the rest of the brain to act on. Luke Remage-Healey, PhD, UMass Amherst In an article published in the June 24, 2015 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience, neuroscientist Luke Remage-Healey, PhD, and doctoral student Maaya Ikeda at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) report finding that a neuromodulator called norepinephrine has an unexpected, direct action on auditory processing of complex signals, specifically bird songs in the zebra finch. According to the authors, studying the role of neuromodulators and their interactions in cortical circuits that encode and decode complex sounds may provide insight into treatments of neurological and sensory-processing disorders such as schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and autism. Maaya Ikeda, doctoral student, UMass Amherst “One reason we work with songbirds is that they learn sounds and structure them in complex ways that are like human speech,” said Remage-Healey. “In previous studies in animals that produce relatively simple sounds like an alarm call, norepinephrine enhanced auditory processing of vocalizations. Now because of Maaya’s work, we understand that norephinephrine enhances the ability of neurons to code for complex sounds.” We also thought norepinephrine may be regulating estrogens like estradiol, but Maaya’s experiments clearly show that’s not the case.” Remage-Healey explains that, in mammals, the neuromodulator norepinephrine is involved in wakefulness and attention, and can immediately change neuronal properties to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio in processing simple sounds such as a bark or a whistle. The signal-to-noise ratio refers to how well a response to a stimulus stands out from background activity. For example, at a busy cocktail party this ratio would be how well a speaker’s voice stands out from the general background noise. For her experiments, Ikeda reportedly infused norepinephrine into zebra finches’ auditory cortex as they listened to complex sounds like song snippets, to assess any change in signal-to-noise ratio. She recorded 18 individual neurons to see if their behavior and response properties changed in the presence of norepinephrine or control solution. To analyze neuronal response in each condition, Ikeda used a pattern classifier computer algorithm written by co-author and UMass Amherst cognitive neuroscientist Rosemary Cowell, PhD. The algorithm was trained to recognize distinct patterns of neuron firing and discriminate among responses to different finch songs. With a high accuracy, the algorithm could tell from the firing pattern which song the finch was hearing. “In this way, you can test how well the neurons in the listening bird are able to resolve the signal against background noise, and how much information each neuron is gaining from the song,” said Ikeda in a UMass Amherst announcement. She found that norepinephrine enhanced the encoding of songs by individual neurons by decreasing background noise firing. What surprised the researchers was that this mechanism was entirely separate from a similar signal enhancement by estradiol shown in previous work. “These experimental results show that norepinephrine increases the signal-to-noise ratio by suppressing the background noise firing, or to finish the analogy, by quieting the crowd at the cocktail party,” said Remage-Healey. Ikeda’s experiments may help to establish that studying neuronal function in songbirds yields information relevant to the human brain. As the researchers explain, mammals are more closely related to humans, but most mammals, except a few such as whales, dolphins and elephants, do not learn or use complex vocalizations. So the discovery that songbirds who learn complex sounds to communicate provide a suitable research model for brain function and auditory processing in humans is advantageous. “I think this opens up a new area of research for understanding how neuromodulators interact to control complex auditory processing,” said Ikeda. “Our result is evidence that in addition to conserved neural structures and behaviors, the underlying neurophysiology is similar between birds and mammals.” For a related study that used birds as research models of auditory processing, read the June 17, 2015 article in The Hearing Review. Source: University of Massachusetts at Amherst Photo credits: Ifeyinwa Arinze and Vocal Lens Photography; UMass; © Verastuchelova | Dreamstime.com

Tag: zebra finch

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Embryos of Some Species Rely on Acoustic Signals

Traffic Noise May Lead to Song Learning Delay in Birds

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Tag: zebra finch

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Dopamine Plays Key Role in Songbird Sound Learning

Embryos of Some Species Rely on Acoustic Signals

Traffic Noise May Lead to Song Learning Delay in Birds

Not All Vocalizations May Support Infant Cognition

Scientists Discover Norepinephrine Helps Sort Auditory Signals

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