Brainstem control of vocalization and its coordination with respiration

Phonation critically depends on precise controls of laryngeal muscles in coordination with ongoing respiration. However, the neural mechanisms governing these processes remain unclear. We identified excitatory vocalization-specific laryngeal premotor neurons located in the retroambiguus nucleus (RAm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2024-03, Vol.383 (6687), p.eadi8081-eadi8081
Main Authors: Park, Jaehong, Choi, Seonmi, Takatoh, Jun, Zhao, Shengli, Harrahill, Andrew, Han, Bao-Xia, Wang, Fan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ablation
Animals
Brain Stem
Breathing
Coordination
Courtship
Expiration
Fear of Success
Gating
Heterogeneity
Hindbrain
Inhalation
Inspiration
Larynx
Lyssavirus
Male
Medulla Oblongata - physiology
Mesencephalon
Mice
Motor neurons
Muscle function
Muscles
Neurogenesis
Neurons
Neurons - physiology
Nodes
Periaqueductal gray area
Phonation
Rabies
Respiration
Rhythms
Sheep
Social Environment
Sound production
Speech
Stimulation
Syllables
Synapses
Tetanus
Tetanus toxin
Toxins
Vocal cords
Vocal organs
Vocalization behavior
Vocalization, Animal - physiology
Volatile Organic Compounds
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Summary:Phonation critically depends on precise controls of laryngeal muscles in coordination with ongoing respiration. However, the neural mechanisms governing these processes remain unclear. We identified excitatory vocalization-specific laryngeal premotor neurons located in the retroambiguus nucleus (RAm ) in adult mice as being both necessary and sufficient for driving vocal cord closure and eliciting mouse ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). The duration of RAm activation can determine the lengths of both USV syllables and concurrent expiration periods, with the impact of RAm activation depending on respiration phases. RAm neurons receive inhibition from the preBötzinger complex, and inspiration needs override RAm -mediated vocal cord closure. Ablating inhibitory synapses in RAm neurons compromised this inspiration gating of laryngeal adduction, resulting in discoordination of vocalization with respiration. Our study reveals the circuits for vocal production and vocal-respiratory coordination.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.adi8081