Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Structure, Performance and Evolution of the Primate Auditory System

博士论文改进：灵长类听觉系统的结构、性能和进化

• 批准号: 0408035
• 负责人: Callum Ross
• 金额: $ 0.8万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Stony Brook
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-06-15 至 2006-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0408035&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Structure; Performance

The auditory system is the most mechanically complex sense in mammals, comprised of numerous bones, muscles, and other soft tissues. Consequently, this region provides many opportunities to study acoustical function and structural differences between various groups of animals have also been used to help infer their relationships to each other. Despite substantial investigation of the function of the auditory system in other groups of mammals (e.g., rodents), primates have received only limited attention in this regard even though considerable variation in the auditory structures both within and between different primate groups has been documented. To help understand the functional and evolutionary implications of primate auditory diversity, this dissertation will measure a set of functionally relevant auditory structures in ten species of primates and one species of tree shrew. The structures that will be examined include the eardrum, middle ear bones and cavities, and the cochlea and will be analyzed using state-of-the-art techniques including micro-computed tomography, impression molding, and digital imaging and measurement. In addition to examining a large comparative data set of extant specimens, a 30 million year old fossil primate specimen from Africa will also be evaluated. Lastly, the hearing sensitivity of a relatively large-bodied prosimian (a "primitive" group of primates), weighing approximately 3.5 kg, will be determined. This final step is necessary since hearing sensitivity data are available for only 18 species of primates and only four of these are prosimians, all four of which weigh 2 kg or less. These data will be used to test hypotheses relating ear structure and function and will be useful for studying the evolution of hearing in primates and other closely related groups. In turn, this type of fundamental data can be applied to further test and generalize broader ideas utilizing acoustic theory in comparative analyses of other mammalian groups. This line of research may eventually be used to investigate the evolution of hearing in humans and its relationship to the unique aspects of human communication.One of the broader impacts of this project relates to its integration of multiple scientific disciplines, bringing together research, researchers, and educators from various fields such as functional morphology, paleontology, behavioral ecology, anatomy, geology, and acoustics. This will help foster partnerships between research facilities such as the Duke Primate Research Center, Duke Medical Center Hearing Research Laboratories, and the Computed Tomography Facility at the University of Texas at Austin. Beyond providing heuristic value in acoustical and evolutionary studies, the information gleaned from this study will expand our understanding of the implications of invasive surgical techniques that require damaging certain auditory structures in order to repair others. The multifarious nature of this investigation will permit the data and results to reach a wide professional audience through publications in acoustical, evolutionary, behavioral, and medical journals.

听觉系统是哺乳动物中最复杂的机械感觉系统，由大量的骨骼、肌肉和其他软组织组成。因此，这个地区提供了许多研究听觉功能的机会，不同动物群体之间的结构差异也被用来帮助推断它们之间的关系。尽管对其他哺乳动物(如啮齿动物)的听觉系统功能进行了大量研究，但灵长类动物在这方面只受到了有限的关注，尽管不同灵长类动物群体内部和之间的听觉结构存在很大差异。为了帮助理解灵长类听觉多样性的功能和进化意义，本论文将在10种灵长类动物和1种树鼠身上测量一组功能相关的听觉结构。将检查的结构包括鼓膜、中耳骨和腔，以及耳蜗，并将使用最先进的技术进行分析，包括微型计算机断层扫描、印模成型以及数字成像和测量。除了检查现存标本的大量比较数据集外，还将对来自非洲的3000万年前的灵长类化石标本进行评估。最后，将测定体重约3.5公斤的体型相对较大的灵长类(灵长类动物中的一群)的听力敏感度。这最后一步是必要的，因为只有18种灵长类动物的听力敏感度数据，其中只有4种是原猴，所有4种动物的体重都在2公斤或更轻。这些数据将被用来检验与耳朵结构和功能有关的假说，并将有助于研究灵长类动物和其他密切相关群体的听力进化。反过来，这种类型的基本数据可以用来进一步测试和推广更广泛的想法，利用声学理论对其他哺乳动物群体进行比较分析。这条研究路线最终可能被用来研究人类听力的进化及其与人类交流的独特方面的关系。该项目的一个更广泛的影响涉及它对多个科学学科的整合，汇集了来自功能形态学、古生物学、行为生态学、解剖学、地质学和声学等不同领域的研究人员、研究人员和教育工作者。这将有助于促进杜克灵长类研究中心、杜克医学中心听力研究实验室和德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的计算机断层扫描设施等研究机构之间的合作伙伴关系。除了在声学和进化研究中提供启发式价值外，从这项研究中收集的信息将扩大我们对侵入性外科技术的影响的理解，这种技术需要破坏某些听觉结构以修复其他结构。这项调查的多种多样的性质将允许数据和结果通过在声学、进化、行为和医学杂志上的出版物接触到广泛的专业受众。