Experimental Studies of Communication

鸟类的声音交流系统长期以来一直是 一般来说，这是一个研究语音交流的模型系统。 原因之一是鸟类的行为特别容易被 study. 另一个原因是鸟类的声音交流 与人类交流的许多相似之处，例如， 发展和神经控制。 鸟类发声信号功能的研究进展 最近，通过使用生物测定， 测量雌鸟对雄鸟发声的偏好。 在 在这个生物测定中，捕获的雌性首先用激素处理， 雌二醇，然后播放记录的 发声 女性对适当的发声有反应， 一种求偶的表现，这是用来作为回应措施。 Searcy博士将研究生物测定的激素基础， 用不同剂量的雌二醇治疗女性， 他们血液中的激素水平，以及相关的剂量和血液 他们对声音刺激的反应程度。 这些 实验应该既能增进我们对荷尔蒙的理解， 控制雌鸟的繁殖行为， 女性声带生物测定方法的改进 喜好 在第二个系列的实验中，瑟西博士将测试 发声的响度对女性偏好的影响。 基于 在其他研究者对青蛙的实验中， 有人提出来解释为什么有些偏好可以被逆转， 改变响度，而其他人对这种改变不敏感。 Searcy博士将测试这些理论是否可以 扩展到鸟类，作为统一领域的一步， 生物声学 在第三组实验中，瑟西博士将测试 来区分不同鸟类发出的声音 男性，使用一种类似于人类实验的技术， 辨别不熟悉的声音。 这些实验将 为产生声乐理论提供了又一步 所有动物之间普遍存在的交流，而不是 只针对一个群体

The vocal communication system of birds has long served as a model system for the study of vocal communication in general. One reason is that the behavior of birds is especially easy to study. Another reason is that avian vocal communication has so many similarities to human communication, for example, in development and in neural control. Progress in studying the function of avian vocal signals has recently been aided greatly by the use of a bioassay for measuring preferences of female birds for male vocalizations. In this bioassay, captive females are first treated with a hormone, estradiol, and then exposed to playback of recorded vocalizations. Females respond to appropriate vocalizations with a courtship display, which is used as the response measure. Dr. Searcy will investigate the hormonal basis of the bioassay by treating females with different doses of estradiol, measuring levels of the hormone in their blood, and relating dose and blood level to their degree of responsiveness to vocal stimuli. These experiments should both advance our understanding of the hormonal control of reproductive behavior in female birds and lead to methodological improvements in the bioassay for female vocal preferences. In a second series of experiments, Dr. Searcy will test the effect of loudness of vocalizations on female preferences. Based on other investigators' experiments with frogs, theories have been proposed to explain why some preferences can be reversed by changing loudness while others are insensitive to such changes. Dr. Searcy will test whether or not these theories can be extended to birds, as a step towards unifying the field of bioacoustics. In a third set of experiments, Dr. Searcy will test the ability of female birds to sort vocalizations produced by different males, using a technique similar to experiments on people's discrimination of unfamiliar voices. These experiments will provide another step towards producing theories of vocal communication that are general across all animals, rather than specific to just one group.