EvoLunch Seminar: Sebastian Calderon Garcia (ISTA)

During conversation, we continuously listen to others while speaking, allowing us to coordinate our vocal interactions and respond rapidly to interruptions. This familiar behavior highlights a broader question: how does the brain process auditory information while actively producing vocalizations? We investigate this question in songbirds, using wild nightingales as our model system. By combining natural vocal interactions with auditory perturbations during ongoing singing, we show that auditory input can access and rapidly disrupt active vocal motor programs, and that birds can integrate information from overlapping signals into subsequent vocal responses. Our results reveal a dynamic interplay between sensory processing and ongoing motor production during song.