Auditory-Vocal Interaction Mechanisms

描述(由申请人提供)：拟议研究的总体目标是揭示非人类灵长类动物听觉-声音相互作用的生理机制。这种机制对我们理解人类的言语产生和感知机制具有重要的意义，但人们对此知之甚少，而且目前还没有足够的非人类灵长类动物模型来在细胞水平上解决这些问题。在这个应用程序中，我们将检查我们在一种声音很大的灵长类动物--普通绒猴(Callithrix Jacchus)--中的研究问题。与其他非人类灵长类物种相比，绒猴有几个重要的优势：丰富的发声曲目，圈养时的高繁殖率，以及光滑的大脑，很容易接触到大脑皮层的所有部分。在拟议的实验中，我们将重点研究猕猴听觉皮质中听觉-发声相互作用的神经基础。在目标1中，我们将开发一个行为范式来实验性地诱导普通绒猴发声。长期以来，研究人员一直在寻找在猴子身上通过行为(而不是电)发出声音的能力，这仍然是研究非人类灵长类动物发声控制机制的一个重大障碍。我们将在目标2中研究听觉皮质的不同区域是如何参与听觉-声音相互作用的。这一目标的发现将揭示猴听皮层中参与听觉-发声相互作用的神经元的功能和解剖学特性，并为未来研究它们与参与发声的脑结构的联系铺平道路。在目标3中，我们将研究行为语境在听觉皮层内听觉-声音相互作用中的作用。绒猴在不同的行为背景下会发出各种各样的声音。我们将研究不同类型的发声是否会在单个听觉皮质神经元中产生不同的调制效果。这项研究的发现将为人类的言语感知机制提供重要的见解，并建立一个非人类灵长类动物模型来研究与言语和听力中的疾病和功能障碍相关的问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall objective of the proposed research is to reveal physiological mechanisms underlying auditory-vocal interaction in non-human primates. Such mechanisms have fundamental importance to our understanding of human speech production and perception mechanisms but are poorly understood, and there are no adequate non-human primate models available to address these issues at the cellular level. In this application, we will examine our research questions in a highly vocal primate, the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). The marmoset provides several important advantages over other non-human primate species: a rich vocal repertoire, a high reproductive rate while in captivity, and a smooth brain allowing easy access to all parts of the cerebral cortex. In the proposed experiments, we will focus on neural substrates of auditory-vocal interactions in marmoset auditory cortex. In Aim 1, we will develop a behavioral paradigm to experimentally induce vocalizations in the common marmoset. The ability to behaviorally (not electrically) elicit vocalizations in monkeys has long been sought by researchers and remains a significant obstacle in the study of vocal control mechanisms in non-human primates. We will study in Aim 2 how various areas of the auditory cortex are involved in auditory-vocal interactions. Findings from this aim will reveal functional and anatomical properties of neurons involved in auditory-vocal interactions in marmoset auditory cortex, and pave the way for future studies of their connectivity with the brain structures involved in vocal production. In Aim 3, we will study the role of behavioral context in auditory-vocal interactions within auditory cortex. Marmosets produce a wide range of vocalizations in different behavioral contexts. We will investigate whether different types of vocalizations produce different modulatory effects in individual auditory cortical neurons. Findings of this research will provide important insight into speech perception mechanisms in humans and establish a non-human primate model to investigate issues related to diseases and dysfunctions in speech and hearing.