# The synaptic basis for social context specific auditory memory formation

> **NIH NIH F32** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $67,446

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
As children, we learn to speak by listening to the speech of our parents, forming memories of these sounds,
and precisely matching our vocal output to these auditory memories. How these auditory memories are formed
is not well understood, but auditory memory formation is highly dependent on social context: We learn to
selectively copy human speech even if we are raised with other vocal animals. Similarly, juvenile zebra finches
learn to sing by first memorizing and then vocally copying the song of an adult zebra finch tutor. Juvenile
finches need to know which sounds (i.e., an adult zebra finch’s song; not the song of another bird species) to
memorize and copy, which requires a learning mechanism that integrates social context with auditory
information. The songbird brain contains a circuit specialized for song learning, making it a tractable system in
which to study how social and auditory cues are integrated to form auditory memories. The research proposed
here will combine in vitro electrophysiology, optogenetics, and in vivo calcium imaging and behavior to
investigate the synaptic basis for the social context-specific formation of the lifelong auditory memories that
drive vocal learning in zebra finches. This research will focus on the sensorimotor song region HVC, which is
directly involved in tutor song memory formation and which receives social context information via dopamine
(DA)-releasing midbrain neurons and tutor song information from auditory cortical inputs. Various lines of
evidence lend support to a model in which auditory synapses onto HVC interneurons are a crucial site for
encoding tutor song memories. Here I propose to systematically measure the effects of DA on the intrinsic and
synaptic properties of identified HVC neurons in vitro, paying particular attention to how DA modulates
optogenetically-targeted auditory synapses onto HVC interneurons. I will then use two-photon calcium imaging
to measure auditory activity in HVC neurons in juveniles during normal tutoring experience or while pairing DA
and tutor song playback, allowing me to directly monitor how auditory memories necessary to vocal learning
are stored in the brain. These experiments will be conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Mooney in
the Duke University Department of Neurobiology. Dr. Mooney is an experienced mentor with an excellent
publication record using a wide variety of cellular, systems, and behavioral approaches to study vocal
communication in songbirds and mice. The proposed research will allow me to continue to build on my
expertise in electrophysiology from my graduate work, develop expertise in optogenetics and imaging, and
continue to progress intellectually as a scientist. In these ways, this fellowship will help me achieve my goal of
becoming a successful academic researcher.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9992297
- **Project number:** 1F32DC018507-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Audrey Ann Mercer
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $67,446
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9992297

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9992297, The synaptic basis for social context specific auditory memory formation (1F32DC018507-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9992297. Licensed CC0.

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