Implanting false memories changes the song of birds

Memories have been implanted in the brains of young zebra finches that change the length of the notes they sing. The process involved manipulating an area of the brain that birds use to learn their singing.

False memories to change the song of birds
The singing of many birds are notes, or syllables. Zebra finches normally learn their song by memorizing their father's song and then slowly learning to copy it.

Todd Roberts of the Southwestern Medical Center at the University of Texas and his colleagues are working to understand how memories are encoded in the brain - particularly the memories that guide the development of social skills.

Previous work had shown that an area of the brain in birds called HVC was important for song learning and that disrupting its activity affected its ability to learn songs.

This zone receives data from another zone called NIf, and the neurons of this structure are active at the beginning and end of the syllables. This suggests that these neurons have a role in coding syllable length.

To learn more, Roberts' team used a technique called optogenetics to manipulate neural activity between the neurons NIf and HVC. This involves inserting genes into neurons that allow them to be controlled by light, then using small fibre optic cables to shine light on the selected area of the brain.

Roberts' team conducted their experiments with young male zebra finches who had never been exposed to adult singers but were beginning to develop their own singing. The group then analyzed the differences in the final air about 30 days later.

Depending on the length of the light pulses, the birds produced different songs
When the team used short pulses of light, the birds produced songs with short syllables. With long pulses of light, the birds produced songs with long syllables.

"We have identified a pathway in the brain that, if activated, can implant false memories during the syllable period, without the bird having any experience with another bird," says Roberts.

The length of the syllables is only one aspect of the song that zebra finches must learn. Other characteristics, such as the height and syllable combination in the sequences, will probably be more difficult to code, but Roberts hopes that his team will eventually be able to implement them.

Dozens of genes in humans show similar activity patterns in songbirds. In light of these similarities, Roberts suggests that voice learning mechanisms in birds' brains could serve as a model for understanding how animals learn their social experiences.

Information to identify autism-related circuits and heal psychological trauma
"We can use this information to identify brain circuits that may be particularly affected by neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism," he says.

A previous study showed that we could implant memories in mice that allowed them to expect to find a reward in a particular place. The application of such techniques in humans is still a long way off, but some researchers hope that one day we will be able to modify the memories associated with psychological trauma.

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