Mathematical Biology Seminar Ayako Yamaguchi Biology Department, University of Utah Wednesday December 7th, 2011 3:05pm in LCB 225 "Neural mechanisms underlying temporal organization in frog vocalizations" Abstract: Abstract: The most prominent product of brain function is behavior. From its most basic to its most complex form (swimming in tadpoles to dancing in humans, for example), animal behavior consists of a series of movements initiated and terminated at precise times. Thus, a fundamental step in understanding the neural basis of behavior is identifying how the nervous system generates and temporally organizes motor programs to produce a coherent motor output. In my talk, I will describe how sequences of motor programs are generated and organized by neurons using the vocal pathways of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis as a model. Recently, we developed an in vitro preparation from which we can induce fictive vocalizations (?singing brain in a dish? preparation). Using this preparation, we identified a type of interneuron (fast trill neurons, FTNs) that code for both click rhythms and trill duration. The duration of the trill seems to be coded by the NMDAR-mediated plateau potential generated by the FTNs and the click rhythms seem to be determined by the subthreshold oscillation generated by the neurons. These findings promise to close the gap between cellular physiology and the organismal function.