ERC Consolidator Grant · 2024
The neural language of song: Brain mechanisms for sensorimotor syntax control
Our motor sequences obey syntax rules. From tying shoes to giving a speech, choosing the next action requires our brain to remember past actions, bridge across many seconds, and apply rules that create hierarchical syntax. Whereas past studies revealed how primary motor cortex drives actions, we poorly understand the transition mechanisms by which the brain strings actions into hierarchical variable sequences. The key obstacle is identifying deep hierarchical syntax rules in behavior and in neural sequences. This obstacle is met by studying birdsong that naturally segments to sequences of syllables. In the zebra finch, juveniles learn once from a tutor and fix a single sequence driven by a…
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