Influence of Mouse Motor Cortex on Vocal Musculature

César D. M. Vargas

OAI: oai:digitalcommons.rockefeller.edu:student_theses_and_dissertations-1783

Learned vocal communication and spoken language are complex behaviors we have long sought to understand. Studying the neurobiology of speech and language will be advanced by investigating its component traits in model organisms. Most vertebrates share common brain stem circuits for vocalization, and they produce innate vocal repertoires over which the animals have little to no control. Vocal learners can imitate heard sounds, and thus have a high degree of control over their vocalizations. Vocal learning species have a direct projection from the pallial forebrain to the brainstem vocal motor neurons, which facilitate their vocal dexterity.

Life Sciences