Jesse H. Goldberg

Parrots imitate song and dance with mixed vocal-gestural neural signals

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

A sparse neural code for acoustic targets enables speech-like vocal flexibility in parrots

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

A collicular map for touch-guided tongue control

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

Anterior forebrain pathway in parrots is necessary for producing learned vocalizations with individual signatures

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.

Songbird mesostriatal dopamine pathways are spatially segregated before the onset of vocal learning

The paper shows that mesostriatal dopamine pathways in songbirds are spatially segregated before vocal learning begins.

Auditory cortical feedback signals retune during songbird courtship

The paper shows that auditory neurons in zebra finches adjust their response to distorted feedback during courtship singing compared to solo singing.

The songbird lateral habenula projects to dopaminergic midbrain and is important for normal vocal development

The paper identifies a songbird VP-LHb-VTA pathway involved in vocal learning, showing that LHb lesions disrupt normal vocal development.

Dopaminergic signals for reward, performance and social outcomes are dynamically gated during courtship

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.

Dopamine Neurons Evaluate Natural Fluctuations in Performance Quality

This study shows dopamine neurons in singing birds evaluate natural fluctuations in song performance without external perturbations.

Songbird subthalamic neurons signal song timing and error and project to dopaminergic midbrain

The paper identifies songbird subthalamic nucleus (STN) neurons that signal song timing and error, projecting to VTA and connected to brain regions involved in song learning.

Movement signaling in ventral pallidum and dopaminergic midbrain is gated by behavioral state in singing birds

The paper shows that movement-related neuronal activity in the ventral pallidum and dopaminergic midbrain of singing birds is gated by behavioral state, switching from movement-locked to song-syllable-locked during singing.

How a mouse licks a spout: Cortex-dependent corrections as the mouse tongue reaches for, and misses, targets

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

Songbird ventral basal ganglia sends performance error signals to dopaminergic midbrain

The paper identifies a ventral basal ganglia region in songbirds that computes prediction error signals and sends them to the VTA, revealing an actor-critic circuit motif in song learning.

Motor cortical inactivation reduces the gain of kinematic primitives in mice performing a hold-still center-out reach task

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.

The segregation of vocal circuits solves a credit assignment problem associated with multi-objective reinforcement learning

The paper shows that spatially segregated motor circuits in vocal learners solve a credit assignment problem in multi-objective reinforcement learning by allowing target-specific reinforcement signals.