Corvids are intelligent songbirds with complex vocal abilities and offer a unique model for investigating the neural basis of self-generated vocalizations. Understanding how their brains plan, execute, and control vocal behavior provides valuable insights into avian cognition and vocal communication.

This project combines behavioral studies, electrophysiology, functional imaging, and neuroanatomy to investigate the neural mechanisms of vocal control in carrion crows. Building upon established behavioral protocols for voluntary vocalization, we will record single-cell activity in key vocal brain regions during vocalization to identify neurons encoding the number of planned and executed vocalizations. Functional ultrasound imaging will provide a whole-brain view of large-scale network dynamics during vocal activity. Anatomical studies using markers will map the connections between vocal and cognitive brain centers. Finally, the tissue transparency method, combined with light-sheet microscopy, will reveal the three-dimensional organization of the crow’s vocal brain. We hypothesize that number-sensitive neurons control the precise planning and execution of vocalizations. We expect that a coordinated vocal network integrates cognitive and motor functions and that specific connectivity underlies these processes.

By elucidating the anatomical connectivity and functional dynamics of the vocal brain, this research will enhance our understanding of vocal cognition in birds and provide a foundation for comparative studies of vocal control mechanisms.