Brian Kardon

The paper shows budgerigar parrots use mixed vocal-gestural neural signals for learned communication, with single neurons representing both song and headbob gestures.

The paper identifies a sparse neural code in parrots that enables flexible vocal combinations similar to human speech phonemes.

The paper shows that touch-guided tongue control in mice relies on a collicular mechanosensorimotor map, similar to visual maps in other species.

The paper investigates the role of the anterior forebrain pathway (AFP) in parrots' vocal learning, finding that its inactivation disrupts the production of learned vocalizations with individual signatures, unlike songbirds.

The paper shows that dopaminergic signals for reward and performance shift during courtship in songbirds, with signals routed through distinct pathways based on social context.

The paper uses high-speed imaging and deep learning to analyze mouse tongue movements during licking, revealing cortex-dependent corrective submovements after missed targets.

The paper shows that inactivating motor cortex in mice reduces the speed of kinematic primitives during a reach task without affecting their direction or complexity.