SavINGS · Locating Muscle Memory of Vocal Motor Skills
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2017-01-01 → 2018-12-31
- EU contribution
- €212,195
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Locating Muscle Memory of Vocal Motor Skills
Complex motor skills, such as singing or playing an instrument, take much time and practice to learn while the brain and peripheral musculature adapt to the task. The acquired muscle coordination degrades when the skill is not used, but the previous level of control can be regained very rapidly with only little practice, a process termed savings. It is not well understood how savings come about, or where the information is stored that enables the quick retrieval of a previously learned motor skill. Birdsong development provides an excellent experimental model to untangle the contributions of the central nervous system and periphery to vocal skill savings. By investigating plasticity in the songbird brain and periphery during the development, discontinuation, and rapid re-acquisition of vocal motor performance, we investigated where muscle memory is located and what mechanisms are involved in the retrieval of motor skills. Our study demonstrates that the rapid re-acquisition of vocal skills in songbirds is accompanied by lasting modifications to the synaptic connectivity in the motor circuits that controls vocalizations. The observed synaptic changes could play an important role in the formation of vocal skill savings, enabling birds to rapidly re-acquire song performance at a later age. This work helps identifying where motor memories are stored and what neural and peripheral mechanisms could be responsible for memorization and recall of motor skills. Furthermore, this work provides fundamental knowledge on possible mechanisms of how we learn new skills, how we maintain these skills as we grow older, and possibly how we can re-acquire skills that are lost through traumatic or neurodegenerative injuries.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Fine motor skills, such as singing or playing an instrument, require precise neural control of the musculature that executes the task. This high level of precision can only be acquired through extensive practice, while both the brain and the peripheral musculature adapt to the task. Although the level of motor performance decreases when a skill is not used, once acquired, previous levels of performance can be regained quickly with only little practice, a phenomenon called ‘savings’. It is unclear, however, what mechanisms underlie savings, and where the information is stored that enables the quick retrieval of previously learned skills.To investigate these questions we propose to use our recently developed model system that allows us to experimentally control the acquisition, discontinuation, and re-acquisition of vocal motor performance in songbirds. This novel model system provides us with an excellent opportunity to untangle the contributions of the central nervous system and the peripheral musculature involved in song production to the savings of vocal motor skills.Using in vivo two-photon microscopy, we will study dynamic changes in the dendritic arborization of motor neurons in the songbird brain during the development, discontinuation, and rapid retrieval of vocal motor performance. At these different stages of skill utilization we will also investigate structural changes to the vocal organ with in vivo x-ray microtomography (µCT) and quantify the mechanical performance of isolated muscle bundles in vitro afterwards. Together these approaches will demonstrate whether modifications to the brain, the vocal musculature, or both, contribute to the savings of vocal motor skills, and enhance our understanding of the neural and peripheral mechanisms that are responsible for memorization and recall of motor skills.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- SYDDANSK UNIVERSITET · Odense MCoordinatorDenmark
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union