Story perspectives

Singing Mouse Shows Triple Motor-Cortical Links, Boosting Speech Therapy Prospects

5/8/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers reported that Alston’s singing mouse (Scotinomys teguina) has a three-fold increase in motor-cortical projections.
The expanded links join motor, auditory and midbrain vocal centers while the mouse shows no brain-size increase or new regions.
Graduate student Emily Isko’s molecular-barcoding of thousands of neurons led Associate Professor Arkarup Banerjee to say the fine-tuned wiring could aid speech-therapy research and perhaps enable singing in other mice.

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Story summary

Researchers reported that Alston’s singing mouse (Scotinomys teguina) has a three-fold increase in motor-cortical projections.
The expanded links join motor, auditory and midbrain vocal centers while the mouse shows no brain-size increase or new regions.
Graduate student Emily Isko’s molecular-barcoding of thousands of neurons led Associate Professor Arkarup Banerjee to say the fine-tuned wiring could aid speech-therapy research and perhaps enable singing in other mice.