COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Cognition and signaling in songbirds

合作研究：鸣禽的认知和信号传导

基本信息

批准号：
1144995
负责人：
William Searcy
金额：
$ 18.7万
依托单位：
University of Miami
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2012
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2012-07-01 至 2016-06-30
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1144995&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH Cognition signaling songbirds

项目摘要

This research will examine associations between communication signals and cognitive ability in two species of songbirds. Song in these species is learned: males memorize external models early in life, and then use these memories to shape their own production when they begin to sing many months later. Because song development involves learning and memory, it is logical to hypothesize an association between song and other aspects of cognition. To test that hypothesis, cognitive ability will be measured in a series of laboratory tasks, for example a novel motor task, in which subjects learn to remove lids from the wells of a foraging grid to obtain food, a color association task, in which subjects learn to associate food with lids of a particular color, and a spatial task, in which subjects learn that food can be found only in certain locations. These cognitive measures will then be related to aspects of song that are the outcome of learning, such as the accuracy with which song models are copied during development and the frequency of sharing of song types with others in the local population. Vocal learning in songbirds shows a series of striking parallels with speech development in humans, and therefore results on the tie between vocal development and cognition in songbirds will have implications for the relationship between cognition and speech in humans. Results from the study will be disseminated not only in scientific outlets but also in workshops for high school biology teachers designed to demonstrate how the study of animal behavior can be used to teach the scientific method.

这项研究将研究两种鸣禽的通信信号与认知能力之间的关联。这些物种中的歌曲是学到的：男性在生命的早期就记住了外部模型，然后在许多月后开始唱歌时使用这些记忆来塑造自己的作品。因为歌曲的发展涉及学习和记忆，所以假设歌曲与认知其他方面之间的关联是合乎逻辑的。为了检验该假设，将在一系列实验室任务（例如一项新型运动任务）中衡量认知能力，其中受试者学会从觅食网格的井中删除盖子以获得食物，其中一种颜色关联任务，其中的主题学会将食物与特定颜色的盖子相关联，并且在某些地方只能在某些位置找到一种颜色的盖子，在某些位置可以找到该部门的食物。这些认知措施将与歌曲的各个方面有关，这些方面是学习的结果，例如在开发过程中复制歌曲模型的准确性以及与当地人群中其他人共享歌曲类型的频率。鸣禽中的声带学习显示了与人类语音发展的一系列引人注目的相似之处，因此，鸣禽的人声发展与认知之间的关系将对人类认知与言语之间的关系产生影响。该研究的结果不仅将在科学渠道中传播，而且还将在高中生物学教师的讲习班中传播，旨在证明如何使用动物行为的研究来教授科学方法。