Both the cerebellum and the basal ganglia are known for their roles in motor control and
motivated behavior. These two systems have been classically considered as independent …

Highlights•Genetic identification of brainstem neurons that gate mouse USVs.•Attractor
networks may convert auditory stimuli into vocal action.•The motor cortex plays a role in …

Avian flight is guided by optic flow—the movement across the retina of images of surfaces
and edges in the environment due to self-motion. In all vertebrates, there is a short pathway …

Speech is a complex sensorimotor skill, and vocal learning involves both the basal ganglia
and the cerebellum. These subcortical structures interact indirectly through their respective …

Songbirds and humans share the ability to adaptively modify their vocalizations based on
sensory feedback. Prior studies have focused primarily on the role that auditory feedback …

Songbirds have become the most prominent animal model to reveal the neural mechanisms
underlying vocal learning. Similar to other forms of sensorimotor learning, vocal learning in …

The inherent complexity of brain tissue, with brain cells intertwining locally and projecting to
distant regions, has made three-dimensional visualization of intact brains a highly desirable …

Vocal learning is a complex acquired social behavior that has been found only in very few
animals. The process of animal vocal learning requires the participation of sensorimotor …

Injury, tumors, ischemia, and lesions in the cerebellum show the involvement of this region
in human speech. The association of the cerebellum with learned birdsong has only been …

Basal ganglia (BG) circuits integrate sensory and motor-related information from the cortex,
thalamus, and midbrain to guide learning and production of motor sequences. Birdsong, like …