Project
Uncovering a role for inhibition in tutor-song memory consolidation in the zebra finch
During development, plastic synapses enable a neuronal circuit to form a memory, but how these malleable synaptic connections allow for a durable representation on longer timescales is still a matter of debate. While the consolidation of memories is likely to be multifaceted, experimental evidence for a role of inhibition in this process is accumulating. This project provides a theory-driven hypothesis of how feedforward inhibition can help to stabilize memories. We propose a network model that depends on a precisely timed interplay between excitation and inhibition: Targeted inhibition in parallel feedforward circuits can bring excitatory plasticity to a hold and “freeze” the synaptic representation once an initial memory engram has been formed. In order to explore and test the hypothesis, the project takes an interdisciplinary perspective and combines mathematical approaches with the experimental system of memory consolidation in the songbird. During a self-guided memorization process, zebra finches learn to imitate a tutor song, allowing for controlled behavioral training paradigms accompanied by electrophysiological monitoring of cellular activity. Recently, all required neuronal players for the hypothesized engram-protecting mechanism were identified in a premotor area of the songbird. An inhibition-dependent protection of acquired memories correlating with actual learning progress was observed. Within this project, we will therefore develop a conceptual mathematical model based on feedforward inhibition that can be directly tested in a naturally occurring learning context in freely moving animals. The produced song of the zebra finch will give us a direct readout of what part of a behavior is consolidated and which part still has to be learned. Given the potential generality of the feedforward inhibition mechanism, we will strive to identify a principle that extends beyond the songbird and sheds light on consolidation in other species, including insects or mammals as they are explored in this CRC.
Image Dr Susanne Seltmann
Team
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Prof Dr Susanne Schreiber
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Head Computational Neurophysiology
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Dr Daniela Vallentin
Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Seewiesen
Max Planck Research Group Leader
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Dr Philipp Norton
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Postdoc A06
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Dr Fabian Heim
Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Seewiesen
Postdoc A06
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Dr Susanne Seltmann
Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Seewiesen
(A06 Alumnus)
Publications
Hebbian plasticity in parallel synaptic pathways: A circuit mechanism for systems memory consolidation
Michiel Remme, Urs Bergmann, Denis Alevi, Susanne Schreiber, Henning Sprekeler, Richard Kempter
PLOS Comput Biol 17(12):e1009681 (2021)
Feed-forward inhibition fine-tunes response timing in auditory-vocal interactions
Philipp Norton, Jonathan Benichov, Margarida Pexirra, Susanne Schreiber, Daniela Vallentin
bioRxiv (2021)
Neural optimization: Understanding trade-offs with pareto theory
Fabian Pallasdies, Philipp Norton, Jan-Hendrik Schleimer, Susanne Schreiber
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 71:84-91 (2021)
Inhibition within a premotor circuit controls the timing of vocal turn-taking in zebra finches
Jonathan I Benichov and Daniela Vallentin
Nat Commun. 11(1):221 (2020)
Spikelets in pyramidal neurons: generating mechanisms, distinguishing properties, and functional implications
Martina Michalikova, Michiel WH Remme, Dietmar Schmitz, Susanne Schreiber and Richard Kempter
Rev Neurosci. 31(1):101-119 (2019)