Mechanisms of vocal learning

声乐学习的机制

• 批准号: 7031495
• 负责人: TERESA A NICK
• 金额: $ 28.45万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-12-16 至 2008-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7031495
• 关键词: animal communication behavior; animal developmental psychology; auditory discrimination; auditory nuclei; auditory pathways; auditory tracking; behavior test; electronic recording system; histology; imitative behavior; juvenile animal; learning; memory; neural information processing; sensory signal detection; songbirds; sound perception; statistics /biometry; video recording system; vocalization

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Communication disorders affect millions of people. Understanding the neural bases of vocal learning will enable early diagnosis and effective treatment of these diseases. There are a few nonhuman vocal learners, of which the songbirds offer the best characterized model in terms of physiology and behavior. As with humans, the zebra finch songbird learns its song in two phases: a sensory phase during which the song of an adult tutor is memorized and a sensorimotor phase during which the bird's own vocalizations are shaped through auditory feedback to match the tutor song. The shaping of the vocalization requires that the comparison between auditory feedback and the memory of the tutor song somehow impact the song motor control circuitry. We recently found that the tutor song selectively activates a key nucleus of the song premotor pathway (Nick, 2003). This selective activation occurs only during waking and only during the period of development when the tutor song memory is used to shape vocalizations. This suggests that the comparison of auditory feedback with the tutor song memory generates a matching signal that is relayed to the premotor nucleus. Three related hypotheses will be tested at the level of single neurons: (1) responses of individual neurons convey the degree of similarity between stimuli and the tutor song memory; (2) the putative matching signal occurs during singing behavior; and (3) the putative matching signal is relayed to the basal ganglia, which is affected in many human diseases. The proposed experiments are designed to avoid approaches that have confounded previous experiments, such as the use of anesthesia. The study will utilize two powerful techniques: multi-electrode recording, which enables the stable assessment of the activity of many single neurons, and juxtacellular recording and dye filling, which enables the identification of individual recorded neurons. The long-term goals of this project will use the putative matching signal to illuminate the role of memory and sensation in shaping vocal behavior.

描述（申请人提供）：沟通障碍会影响数百万人。了解声带学习的神经基础将使这些疾病的早期诊断和有效治疗。有一些非人类的人声学习者，其中鸣禽在生理和行为方面提供了最佳特征模型。与人类一样，斑马芬奇鸣禽在两个阶段中学习了歌曲：一个感官阶段，在此期间，成人辅导员的歌被记住，并且是一个感觉运动阶段，在此期间，鸟自己的发声是通过听觉反馈来形成的，以匹配导师的歌曲。发声的塑造要求听觉反馈与导师歌曲的记忆之间的比较在某种程度上影响了歌曲电动机控制电路。我们最近发现，导师歌曲有选择地激活歌曲前途径的关键核（Nick，2003）。这种选择性激活仅在醒来时才会发生，并且仅在使用导师歌曲记忆来塑造发声时才发生。这表明听觉反馈与导师歌曲记忆的比较会产生一个匹配信号，该信号传达给前核。将在单个神经元的水平上测试三个相关的假设：（1）单个神经元的响应传达了刺激与辅导歌曲记忆之间的相似程度； （2）推定的匹配信号在唱歌行为期间发生； （3）假定的匹配信号传达给基底神经节，这在许多人类疾病中受到影响。所提出的实验旨在避免与先前实验混淆的方法，例如使用麻醉。该研究将利用两种强大的技术：多电极记录，可以稳定评估许多单个神经元的活性以及并置的记录和染料填充，从而可以识别单个记录的神经元。该项目的长期目标将使用推定的匹配信号来阐明记忆和感觉在塑造声音行为中的作用。