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Neural Circuits of Vocal Communication in the Singing Mice

EVENT: 
Weekly Seminar | Not Open to the Public
Who Should Attend: 
Researchers

Abstract

The ability to act upon sensory information to generate a desired motor output is a fundamental component of animal behavior. During conversation, for instance, we listen to the words of another person, interpret them and modify our speech appropriately. We know little about the neural mechanisms that underlie vocal communication, especially in mammals. We have recently begun to investigate neural mechanisms of vocal communication in Alston's singing mouse (Scotinomys teguina) - a highly vocal neotropical rodent native to the cloud forests of Central America. S. teguina produce a stereotyped series of vocalizations (in the human audible range) that are often performed in concert with the songs of other individuals of the same species. This vocal coordination has similarities to 'turn taking' in human speech as well as vocal behaviors observed in nonhuman primates. In this talk, I will describe the singing behavior of these rodents and discuss a series of experiments that were performed to localize a motor cortical area that controls vocal behavior in this species. I will end by discussing our ongoing efforts to identify neural circuit differences between lab mice and singing mice using high-throughput connectomics.

Dr. Arkarup Banerjee's Singing Mouse Photo

Publications

Arkarup Banerjee, Daniela Vallentin
Convergent behavioral strategies and neural computations during vocal turn-taking across diverse species
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2022 Apr;73:102529. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102529. Epub 2022 Mar 31.
Arkarup Banerjee, Steven M Phelps, Michael A Long
Singing mice
Curr Biol. 2019 Mar 18;29(6):R190-R191. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.11.048.
Daniel E Okobi Jr, Arkarup Banerjee, Andrew M M Matheson, Steven M Phelps, Michael A Long
Motor cortical control of vocal interaction in neotropical singing mice
Science. 2019 Mar 1;363(6430):983-988. doi: 10.1126/science.aau9480.

When

Tuesday, October 11, 2022 - 12:30pm

Where

Conference Room: 
Billings Building – Rosedale & Zoom

More Information

Darlene White

Conditions & Recovery

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Remember and speak clearly.