Research focuses on the functional architecture of a brain-wide network that controls vocal imitation in an animal model for human speech learning.
Current Research
An inter-disciplinary research program examines the interplay of cortical and basal ganglia circuitry during juvenile vocal learning and seeks to delineate the intrinsic network architecture of a brain region that directs the production of learned vocal sequences.
Publications
Selected Publications
Thompson JA, Basista MJ, Wu W, Bertram R, Johnson F. (2011) Dual pre-motor contribution to songbird syllable variation. The Journal of Neuroscience. 31:322-30.
Wu W, Thompson JA, Bertram R, Johnson F. (2008) A statistical method for quantifying songbird phonology and syntax. The Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 174:147-54.
Thompson JA, Wu W, Bertram R, Johnson F. (2007) Auditory-dependent vocal recovery in adult male zebra finches is facilitated by lesion of a forebrain pathway that includes the basal ganglia. The Journal of Neuroscience. 27:12308-20.
Thompson JA, Johnson F. (2007) HVC microlesions do not destabilize the vocal patterns of adult male zebra finches with prior ablation of LMAN. Developmental Neurobiology 67:205-18.
