# Delineation of auditory-motor population dynamics underlying sensorimotor integration in the birdsong system

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2023 · $40,329

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Speech is a closed-loop behavior which requires the brain to continuously perceive and produce acoustic signals
in real time. Current neurobiological theories of speech posit that neural population activity across auditory and
motor regions is dynamically coupled during speech production, but that speech perception relies on auditory
processing alone. This sensorimotor integration hypothesis would allow the brain to exploit immediate auditory
feedback to fine-tune the motor actions that elicit speech. Rigorous neurobiological tests of sensorimotor
integration require (1) a model system that enables the control and measurement of sensorimotor behaviors, (2)
the experimental expertise to conduct large-scale neural recordings simultaneously in sensory and motor
regions, and (3) the computational abilities to develop population scale analyses that assess coordination in the
distributed dynamics of individual neurons. This proposal presents a synergistic combination of experiments and
analyses that meet these requirements: Simultaneous recordings and perturbations of both auditory and motor
regions in European starlings during birdsong production and perception are combined with novel topological
data analyses (TDA) to uncover the population mechanisms that instantiate sensorimotor integration. European
starlings are an ideal organism for understanding neurobiological mechanisms that support sensorimotor
integration; they produce and rely on complex vocal communication signals and have a long history of use in
invasive electrophysiology studies. The overarching goal of this proposal is to investigate how distributed
neuronal population activity integrates auditory and motor information during closed-loop behavior—specifically
birdsong. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that auditory and motor population activity is uniquely
coupled when birds sing, in contrast to when birds listen to song. This hypothesis will be tested through the
following specific aims: In Aim 1, simultaneously recording auditory and motor regions while birds sing and
listen to song will enable an understanding of how population activity is coordinated across regions. In Aim 2,
recordings from auditory regions with concurrent optogenetic inhibition of motor regions while birds sing and
listen to song will enable a delineation of causal interactions between regions. Novel TDA will be used to quantify
the coordination of neural activity across regions and through time, enabling mechanistic insight into how
population dynamics structure song behavior. Contrasting population activity across auditory and motor areas
between singing and listening will allow for the identification of dynamics unique to sensorimotor integration. In
the near-term, this proposal provides a mechanistic understanding of how neuronal populations coordinate to
perform sensorimotor integration in the songbird system. In the long-term, this approach will enable future
research into how bra...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10824950
- **Project number:** 1F31DC021631-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Trevor Supan McPherson
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $40,329
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-08-26 → 2026-08-25

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10824950

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10824950, Delineation of auditory-motor population dynamics underlying sensorimotor integration in the birdsong system (1F31DC021631-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10824950. Licensed CC0.

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