MINORITY PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

少数族裔博士前奖学金计划

• 批准号: 6043339
• 负责人: VALERIE D DEWULF
• 金额: $ 1.67万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-08-01 至
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6043339
• 关键词: behavioral /social science research tag; developmental neurobiology; learning; neurogenesis; songbirds; vocalization

The long-term objective of this study focuses on the relationship between neurogenesis and brain development during vocal development in young zebra finches. Only young male and not female zebra finches learn to sing a close copy of their father's song. Like song behavior, the neural substrate for song is highly sexually dimorphic. The brain regions controlling song learning and production (vocal control regions, VCR) are approximately 5 times larger in adult males than females. However, at the onset of song learning, the VCR of both young males and females are approximately equal in neuron number, but diverge greatly over the course of vocal development by the addition of new neurons to the male VCR and cell death in female song-control nuclei. Until now, no one has tested whether cellular proliferation contributes directly to the development of the sexually dimorphic VCR in songbirds. Short- term thymidine administration will be used to characterize the incidence of cellular proliferation in the proliferative epithelium of juvenile and adult birds of both sexes. It is possible that the incidence of mitotic activity is higher in young males than in young females leading to the production of more new neurons in the brains of juvenile males. This surplus of new neurons could then become incorporated into the functional circuits involved in vocal learning and behavior thus heightening the ability of young males to learn vocal behavior. The studies proposed in this grant are aimed at characterizing neurogenesis in the zebra finch telencephalon and the relationship between neuronal production and vocal learning. These experiments are important in understanding basic processes of brain development and the neural mechanisms of vocal learning.

本研究的长期目标侧重于关系 声音发育过程中神经发生和大脑发育之间的关系 年轻的斑胸草雀。 只有年轻的雄性斑胸草雀学习，雌性斑胸草雀不学习 唱他们父亲歌曲的近似版本。 就像歌曲行为一样， 歌曲的神经基质具有高度的性别二态性。 大脑 控制歌曲学习和制作的区域（声乐控制区域， VCR）在成年男性中大约比女性大 5 倍。 然而，在开始学习歌曲时，年轻男性和女性的录像机 女性的神经元数量大致相等，但差异很大 在声音发育的过程中，通过添加新的神经元 雄性 VCR 和雌性歌曲控制核中的细胞死亡。 到目前为止， 没有人测试过细胞增殖是否直接起作用 鸣禽性别二态性 VCR 的发展。 短的- 胸苷给药一词将用于描述发病率 幼年增殖性上皮细胞增殖的影响 以及雌雄成鸟。 发病率有可能是 年轻雄性的有丝分裂活性高于年轻雌性 以便在青少年男性的大脑中产生更多新的神经元。 然后，这些多余的新神经元可能会被纳入到 涉及声音学习和行为的功能回路 提高年轻男性学习声音行为的能力。 这 这笔赠款中提出的研究旨在表征神经发生 斑马雀端脑与神经元之间的关系 制作和声乐学习。 这些实验很重要 了解大脑发育和神经系统的基本过程 声乐学习机制