Adult zebra finches rehearse highly variable song patterns during sleep
Brain activity during sleep is fairly ubiquitous and the best studied possible function is a role in memory consolidation, including motor memory. One suggested mechanism of how neural activity effects these benefits is through reactivation of neurons in patterns resembling those of the preceding ex...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2017-11-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/4052.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797424242615123968 |
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| author | Brent K. Young Gabriel B. Mindlin Ezequiel Arneodo Franz Goller |
| author_facet | Brent K. Young Gabriel B. Mindlin Ezequiel Arneodo Franz Goller |
| author_sort | Brent K. Young |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Brain activity during sleep is fairly ubiquitous and the best studied possible function is a role in memory consolidation, including motor memory. One suggested mechanism of how neural activity effects these benefits is through reactivation of neurons in patterns resembling those of the preceding experience. The specific patterns of motor activation replayed during sleep are largely unknown for any system. Brain areas devoted to song production in the songbird brain exhibit spontaneous song-like activity during sleep, but single cell neural recordings did not permit detection of the specific song patterns. We have now discovered that this sleep activation can be detected in the muscles of the vocal organ, thus providing a unique window into song-related brain activity at night. We show that male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) frequently exhibit spontaneous song-like activity during the night, but that the fictive song patterns are highly variable and uncoordinated compared to the highly stereotyped day-time song production. This substantial variability is not consistent with the idea that night-time activity replays day-time experiences for consolidation. Although the function of this frequent activation is unknown, it may represent a mechanism for exploring motor space or serve to generate internal error signals that help maintain the high stereotypy of day-time song. In any case, the described activity supports the emerging insight that brain activity during sleep may serve a variety of functions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:59:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-422a7c2b59ce4fd1a42323ea49cb7e7d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:59:29Z |
| publishDate | 2017-11-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-422a7c2b59ce4fd1a42323ea49cb7e7d2023-12-03T00:49:05ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-11-015e405210.7717/peerj.4052Adult zebra finches rehearse highly variable song patterns during sleepBrent K. Young0Gabriel B. Mindlin1Ezequiel Arneodo2Franz Goller3Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States of AmericaPhysics Department, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaPhysics Department, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaDepartment of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States of AmericaBrain activity during sleep is fairly ubiquitous and the best studied possible function is a role in memory consolidation, including motor memory. One suggested mechanism of how neural activity effects these benefits is through reactivation of neurons in patterns resembling those of the preceding experience. The specific patterns of motor activation replayed during sleep are largely unknown for any system. Brain areas devoted to song production in the songbird brain exhibit spontaneous song-like activity during sleep, but single cell neural recordings did not permit detection of the specific song patterns. We have now discovered that this sleep activation can be detected in the muscles of the vocal organ, thus providing a unique window into song-related brain activity at night. We show that male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) frequently exhibit spontaneous song-like activity during the night, but that the fictive song patterns are highly variable and uncoordinated compared to the highly stereotyped day-time song production. This substantial variability is not consistent with the idea that night-time activity replays day-time experiences for consolidation. Although the function of this frequent activation is unknown, it may represent a mechanism for exploring motor space or serve to generate internal error signals that help maintain the high stereotypy of day-time song. In any case, the described activity supports the emerging insight that brain activity during sleep may serve a variety of functions.https://peerj.com/articles/4052.pdfMotor replaySleepSongMotor programConsolidation |
| spellingShingle | Brent K. Young Gabriel B. Mindlin Ezequiel Arneodo Franz Goller Adult zebra finches rehearse highly variable song patterns during sleep PeerJ Motor replay Sleep Song Motor program Consolidation |
| title | Adult zebra finches rehearse highly variable song patterns during sleep |
| title_full | Adult zebra finches rehearse highly variable song patterns during sleep |
| title_fullStr | Adult zebra finches rehearse highly variable song patterns during sleep |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adult zebra finches rehearse highly variable song patterns during sleep |
| title_short | Adult zebra finches rehearse highly variable song patterns during sleep |
| title_sort | adult zebra finches rehearse highly variable song patterns during sleep |
| topic | Motor replay Sleep Song Motor program Consolidation |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/4052.pdf |
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