INVITED TALK: Neural coding of sound envelope structure in songbirds

S. BOARI AND A. AMADOR

Conferencia; SAN 2021 XXXVI Annual (Virtual) Meeting; 2021

Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias

Songbirds are a well-established animal model to study the neural basis of learning, perception and production of complex vocalizations. In this system, telencephalic units in the neural nucleus HVC present a state-dependent, highly selective response to auditory presentations of the bird?s own song (BOS). This property provides an opportunity to study the neural code behind a complex behavior. Here, I will show that subtle changes in the temporal structure of the sound envelope of the song can drive changes in the neural responses of highly selective HVC units. In this work, we generated an envelope-modified BOS (MOD) by reversing each syllable?s envelope but leaving the overall temporal structure of syllable spectra unchanged, which resulted in a subtle modification for each song syllable. We conducted in vivo electrophysiological recordings of HVC neurons in anaesthetized zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Units analyzed presented a high BOS selectivity and lower response to MOD, but preserved the profile response shape. These results show that the temporal evolution of the sound envelope has a specific neural representation in the avian song system.