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SUMMARY: A framework for studying the neurobiology of female choice and gr
 oup cohesion in a social songbird. - Professor Marc Schmidt (University of
  Pennsylvania)
DTSTART:20220304T163000Z
DTEND:20220304T180000Z
UID:TALK168851@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Psychology Reception
DESCRIPTION:Bio: Marc Schmidt is a Professor in the Department of Biology 
 and Neuroscience Program at the University of Pennsylvania. His work has f
 ocused on the neural bases of vocal production in songbirds focusing on qu
 estions ranging from state-dependent regulation of auditory processing to 
 investigating the role of brainstem circuits in the generation of learned 
 vocal sequences. After doctoral work focused primarily on neural developme
 nt\, he switched to studying songbirds during his postdoctoral studies in 
 the laboratory of Masakazu Konishi at Caltech. His current work has moved 
 in a more behavioral direction focusing on the biology of female choice an
 d the role of female signaling in establishing social group dynamics.\n\nA
 bstract:\nCourtship is complex and is influenced by many factors including
  social context\, hormone levels\, and environmental stimuli. The specific
  neural circuits that underlie the regulation of this suite of behaviors i
 s poorly understood. My laboratory is investigating the role that a neural
  circuit known as the ‘song system”\, which has exclusively been studi
 ed in the context of singing in males\, plays in regulating courtship beha
 vior in females. My talk will discuss work in the laboratory\, where we in
 vestigate the neural bases of female choice. I will also talk about prelim
 inary work from our new outdoor “smart aviary”\, where we use newly de
 veloped computer-vision approaches to non-invasively track moment-to-momen
 t behavioral interactions\, both vocal and non-vocal\, in a stable group o
 f 16 birds during the entire breeding season. This work aims to quantify c
 ourtship interactions in the group and identify patterns that become dysre
 gulated following lesions to the “song system” circuit.\n
LOCATION:Zoom meeting
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