DEPARTMENT of PSYCHOLOGY
2018-2019 COLLOQUIUM SERIES
presents
Katie Tschida, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Neurobiology
Duke University
“Mouse Love Songs:
Defining the Neural Circuits for Vocal Communication”
Vocalizations are an essential medium for communication in mammals ranging from mice to humans, conveying important information about the individual’s social status and affective state, as well as the presence of food, kin, or predators. Vocalization requires coordinated phonation, articulation, and respiration and involves a neural network that spans the forebrain and brainstem. A key region in this network is the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG), which serves as an obligatory node for vocal control in primates, cats, and rodents. Despite the PAG’s importance for vocal production, the identity of the PAG neurons involved in vocalization has remained elusive.
Here we used an intersectional genetic “tagging” method to identify a subset of PAG neurons in male mice that are selectively activated during the production of ultrasonic courtship vocalizations (USVs). Genetic silencing of PAG-USV neurons rendered males unable to produce courtship USVs and impaired their ability to attract females. Conversely, activating PAG-USV neurons selectively triggered USV production, even in the absence of any female cues. Optogenetic stimulation combined with axonal tracing indicate that PAG-USV neurons gate downstream vocal patterning circuits. Indeed, activating PAG neurons that innervate the nucleus retroambiguus, but not those innervating the parabrachial nucleus, elicited USVs in both male and female mice. These experiments identify a dedicated and specialized population of PAG neurons that are required for the production of male courtship USVs, demonstrate the communicative salience of male USVs in promoting female affiliation, and map a broader PAG-to-hindbrain circuit whose activation gates USV production in both male and female mice.
Monday, February 4, 2019
3:30 p.m.
Gilmer 190
Coffee/cookies at 3:15pm.
Reception will be held after the talk.