# Testing a model of cortico-basal ganglia support for juvenile imitative learning in zebra finches

> **NIH NIH F31** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $37,429

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Juveniles acquire crucial skills by imitating skilled adults, as when infants imitate their parents' speech sounds.
Evidence suggests that cortico-basal ganglia (CBG) circuitry critically supports this process both in general and
specifically when juvenile zebra finches learn to imitate an adult tutor, an experimentally tractable
phenomenon. A cortical pathway in juvenile zebra finches can generate stereotyped song that becomes more
similar to tutor song over the course of learning. A song-dedicated CBG circuit influences activity in this
pathway, acutely increasing the variability of song acoustics from rendition to rendition. My preliminary data
suggest that the CBG circuit also acutely induces a directional shift in song acoustics, compared to song
generated by the cortical pathway without CBG influence. The proposed experiments test the idea that the
CBG drives rapid acoustic shifts, directed at the imitation target, that slowly consolidate in downstream motor
cortical structures. To test this hypothesis, I have developed a (1) novel song analysis and (2) a novel
longitudinal experimental design that uses (3) innovative optogentic techniques in this model system. These
experiments have the potential to significantly advance our understanding of CBG support for zebra finch song
learning, and to test CBG reinforcement learning models in a learning domain that does not require external
reinforcement.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9911141
- **Project number:** 1F31HD098772-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Samuel Brudner
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $37,429
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9911141

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9911141, Testing a model of cortico-basal ganglia support for juvenile imitative learning in zebra finches (1F31HD098772-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9911141. Licensed CC0.

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