Comparative study of seasonality in auditory performance

不同物种在其发声曲目的复杂性上存在巨大差异。不幸的是，我们对这种变异如何与听觉能力相匹配知之甚少。此外，每个人的发声曲目在一年中的变化程度可能会有很大差异，但我们几乎对听觉能力的相关变化一无所知。这种对听觉系统可塑性的比较研究将使我们深入了解这两个问题。这项研究计划将重点放在使用听觉诱发电位的鸣鸟的听力特性上，这些特性如何随季节变化，以及它们在个体之间的差异。这项研究将包括对八种鸣禽进行一系列史无前例的听力测试。首先，实验将测试听力是否调好？歌唱的特定物种方面，物种栖息地的特征，以及密切相关的物种之间是否保存听力。实验还将测试个体在处理歌曲时的差异是否比处理联系电话时的差异更大。其次，这些实验将评估听觉的季节性是否与声音信号的使用相匹配，影响声音如何在环境中传播的栖息地变化，遵循物种之间的分类相似性，以及季节性是否反映了社会互动中的季节性变化。更广泛的影响鉴于鸟类和哺乳动物的听觉系统具有广泛的相似性，了解鸟类听觉系统的可塑性可能有助于我们了解人类听觉系统的可塑性，从而为听力障碍的治疗提供研究途径。我们在听力方面的工作一直是面向高中生的一系列交流研讨会的重点。该计划的一个目标是明确将来自贫困地区的学生包括在内。我们还将培养研究生和本科生进行跨学科研究。

Species vary enormously in the complexity of their vocal repertoire. Unfortunately, we know very little about how this variation is matched by auditory capabilities. Moreover, individuals can vary enormously in how much their vocal repertoire changes over the course of the year, yet we know almost nothing about correlated changes in auditory capability. This comparative study of the plasticity of the auditory system will give us insight into both of these issues. This research program will focus on properties of hearing in songbirds using auditory evoked potentials, how those properties change across seasons, and how they differ between individuals. The research will include an unprecedented array of tests of hearing performance in eight species of songbirds.. First, the experiment will test whether hearing is ?tuned? to species-specific aspects of song, and the characteristics of the species habitats, and if hearing is conserved among closely related species. Experiments will also test whether individuals vary more when processing song than when they process contact calls. Second, the experiments will evaluate whether seasonality in hearing matches the use of vocal signals, habitat changes that affect how sound carries through an environment, follows taxonomic similarities between species, and whether seasonality reflects seasonal variation in social interactions. Broader ImpactsGiven the broad similarities between avian and mammalian auditory systems, understanding the plasticity of the avian auditory system is likely to help us understand plasticity in the human auditory system, and thereby provide avenues of research in the treatment of hearing disorders. Our work on hearing has been the focus of a series of workshops on communication geared to high school students. One goal of this program is explicitly to include students from disadvantaged areas. We will also train graduate students and undergraduates in cross-disciplinary research.