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Neural underpinnings of vocal production learning and rhythm in the seal brain

Laura Verga, Nienke Hoeksema, Janine Mengede, Corné Van Roessel, Stella Villanueva, Anna Salazar-Casals, Ana Rubio-Garcia, Branislava Ćurčić- Blake, Koen De Reus, Sonja A. Kotz, Sonja C. Vernes, Andrea Ravignani

Date / Location: Monday, 11 July 2022 / S04-449
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Seals have two critical prerequisites for studying the evolution of language and music: the ability to flexibly modify their vocalisations (vocal production learning; VPL) and to process rhythm. However, little is known about the neural underpinnings of VPL and rhythm in animal groups other than humans, songbirds, and non-human primates. Here, we investigate the seal’s neuroanatomy and connectivity and their possible relationship with VPL and rhythm. Three brains were retrieved post-mortem from weaned seals; one harbour seal—Phoca vitulina—and two grey seals—Halichoerus grypus) that were either euthanised or had died of natural causes in rehabilitation. Brains were fixed in formalin and scanned with high-resolution MRI to obtain T1, T2, and diffusion weighted images. The anatomical scans were segmented to create an atlas, a labelled template, and a 3D model with volumetric measurements of brain regions. Results show that the seal brain is relatively big and highly convoluted, with a large temporal lobe and cerebellum and similar cortical thickness as found in humans. Planned probabilistic DTI analyses will target the ascending auditory pathway and the pyramidal tracts. We expect to observe strong connections between auditory and motor regions (e.g., Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), dorsal caudate, temporo-parietal area), supporting VPL and rhythmic processing. By bridging the research gap from songbirds to humans and non-human primates, these results will critically inform VPL and rhythm research and may thus elucidate and enrich the ongoing debate on the evolution of language and music.

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