Extended Data Fig. 1: Schematic of brainstem regions involved in innate vocalization.
From: A brainstem circuit for phonation and volume control in mice
Innate vocalizations are generated (gated) by the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) in the brainstem, which sends dense axonal projections to the nucleus retroambiguus (RAm, red) in the caudal medulla. Motor neuron pools (black) innervate the jaw opening muscles (trigeminal motor nucleus, MoV), laryngeal muscles (nucleus ambiguus, Amb), tongue muscles (hypoglossal motor nucleus, nXII), and abdominal expiratory muscles (thoracic ventral horn), which are all involved in vocalization. The ventral respiratory column (VRC, gray) contains inspiratory and expiratory control centers. RAm is hypothesized to control these distant motor pools and breathing centers to generate vocalization.
