Image of the songbird ventral tegmental area. Neurons that release dopamine are labeled in cyan.
How does the brain learn complex motor skills?
I use songbirds as a model organism to understand the brain circuits responsible for learning and executing skilled movements.
Like human speech, song is a complex motor skill that is learned socially and requires sensory feedback for learning and lifelong maintenance.
Voltage signals recorded from three neurons simultaneously.
By recording neural activity during singing, and mapping the neuroanatomical pathways between the brain regions controlling song and song learning, we can begin to understand how the brain transforms sensory feedback into motor learning.
Relevant Publications
Wood, A.N. (2021) New roles for dopamine in motor skill acquisition. Journal of Neurophysiology 125(6), 2361-2374
Hoffmann, L.H., Saravanan, V., Wood, A.N., He, L., and Sober, S.J. (2016) Dopaminergic contributions to vocal learning. Journal of Neuroscience 36(7), 2176-2189
Past Research Projects
Microglia-mediated neural plasticity in the olfactory system
Sensory cilia development in the olfactory system
NMDA receptor-independent learning in the hippocampus
Effects of aging in memory formation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease
See more on my Google Scholar profile.