Neural population dynamics underlying flexibility in natural communication behaviors

PROJECT SUMMARY A central problem in neuroscience is to understand how the brain controls innate behaviors. While reductionist experiments have been invaluable in isolating specific neural functions and their links to behaviors, they may not capture the full complexity of the brain performing ecologically relevant tasks; natural signals and natural behaviors are inherently complex, context-dependent, and continuous. Like other complex behaviors, vocal communication is facilitated by the coordination of networks of neurons that integrate auditory perception and motor planning for goal-directed decision-making. Linking neural signaling to the production of flexible vocal communication behaviors therefore requires characterization of the properties of network level neural interactions across multiple contexts. This proposal meets this challenge by leveraging a well-developed model for vocal communication, songbirds, a species that produces and relies on complex acoustic signals. The overarching goal of this proposal is to investigate how context in the form of acoustic cue, internal states, and behavioral motivations affect neural population dynamics during vocal communication behaviors. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that context-dependent interactions shift neural population dynamics to allow auditory and motor regions to affect different perceptual experiences or behavioral goals. This hypothesis will be tested through the following two phases: With my dissertation, I will determine how neural population dynamics in an auditory region are differentially structured and coordinated across internal and acoustic contexts during auditory perception. Preliminary data demonstrate significant alteration in temporal processing of auditory information as a function of context during perceptual categorization. In the F99 phase, I leverage innovative latent space models and state-of-the-art dynamical systems theory to asses network-level interactions across predictive cue conditions in addition to active and passive auditory perception. Primary results will enable novel insight into the mechanisms that allow populations of neurons to create different perceptual experiences across acoustic and internal contexts. In the K00 phase, I utilize advanced electrophysiological methods to assess neural population dynamics, recording activity from large populations of single neurons within a pre-motor area during vocal production (singing) in various behavioral contexts. I will employ the same analytical framework to measure neural dynamics across behaviors in order to characterize the links between neural dynamics and context. These findings will provide a mechanism for how neural interactions across the network coordinate to produce vocal gestures across behavioral contexts. The carefully designed training plan integrates scientific and professional development activities to support my goal of becoming an independent neuroscience researcher leading an academic laboratory. I will work with my sponsors to continue acquiring the proposed skills and to enable me to find the right postdoctoral training environment that aligns with my long-term research and career goals.