Brain Pathways Behind Singing Mice's Conversational Songs Identified

A study published in Nature reveals the neural mechanisms enabling Alston's singing mice to engage in back-and-forth vocalizations without interrupting each other. Researchers led by Arkarup Banerjee at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, with a team from New York University, found that singing mice have three times the number of neurons connecting the motor cortex to brain regions involved in hearing and midbrain vocalization compared to non-singing lab mice. This enhancement of existing pathways, rather than novel circuitry, suggests a relatively subtle change in brain wiring. The discovery could inform understanding of vocal turn-taking and language evolution in mammals, including humans. Separately, a team led by Samantha Smith at the University of Lausanne identified an inflatable air sac in the mice's larynxes critical for their complex songs, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The findings build on earlier work from 2019 establishing conversational similarities between singing mice and humans.