Behavioural Neurobiology of Avian Communication

鸟类交流的行为神经生物学

• 批准号: 326869-2012
• 负责人: Phillmore, Leslie
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: Dalhousie University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=571859
• 关键词: Behavioural; Neurobiology; Avian; Communication

This research program examines how environment affects both the behaviour and brain of songbirds. More specifically, I will study how changes in the local environment, such as day length (photoperiod) or housing condition affect male and female vocal behaviour and perception, and how they affect neural regions in the brain that are important for singing and for processing vocalizations. These neural measures include rate of new cell birth, size of regions important for song, and responsiveness of the neurons to acoustic stimuli. I will use two songbird species: zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) and black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) as complementary model systems in projects that may fall under three separate but related aims. One aim of my research program studies how differences in housing, such as level of enrichment or number of birds in one cage, affect neurogenesis, or birth, migration, and survival of new neurons. The second and third streams of research relate to seasonal changes in perception and the neural regions important for perception of vocalizations. Temperate songbirds such as chickadees are sensitive to changes in photoperiod: change from short to long days make birds photostimulated (or brings them into breeding condition), and a change from long to short days makes birds photorefractory (brings birds into non-breeding condition). Breeding condition in turn affects chickadee behaviour (e.g. song production) and the brain (e.g. selectivity of neural response). We will continue our research on how photoperiod affects perception by (1) asking how breeding condition affects birds ability to discriminate acoustic stimuli by testing birds perceptual abilities in operant chambers with vocalizations from their own and other species (2) examine how breeding condition affects both expression of the immediate early gene Zenk, a marker of brain activity in neural regions important for vocal perception and expression of FoxP2, a transcription factor important for vocal communication. As a whole my research program will provide insight into vocal communication at both behavioural and neural levels, using an integrative, comparative and multidisciplinary approach.

这个研究项目研究环境是如何影响鸣禽的行为和大脑的。更具体地说，我将研究当地环境的变化，如白天长度（光周期）或住房条件如何影响男性和女性的发声行为和感知，以及它们如何影响大脑中对唱歌和处理发声很重要的神经区域。这些神经测量包括新细胞出生的速度，对歌唱重要区域的大小，以及神经元对声刺激的反应。我将使用两种鸣禽：斑胸草雀（Taeniopygia guttata）和黑顶山雀（Poecile atricapillus）作为项目的互补模型系统，这些项目可能属于三个独立但相关的目标。我的研究项目的一个目的是研究不同的饲养环境，如一个笼子里的富集程度或鸟的数量，如何影响神经发生，即新神经元的出生、迁移和存活。第二和第三个研究流涉及感知的季节变化和对发声感知重要的神经区域。温带鸣禽，如山雀，对光周期的变化很敏感：从短到长的日照变化使鸟类受光刺激（或使它们进入繁殖状态），从长到短的日照变化使鸟类光难反应（使鸟类进入非繁殖状态）。繁殖条件反过来影响山雀的行为（如鸣叫）和大脑（如神经反应的选择性）。我们将通过以下方式继续研究光周期对感知的影响：(1)通过测试鸟类在操作室中对自己和其他物种的发声的感知能力，探究繁殖条件如何影响鸟类辨别声音刺激的能力(2)研究繁殖条件如何影响直接早期基因Zenk的表达，Zenk是对声音感知重要的神经区域的大脑活动标记和FoxP2的表达，一个对声音交流很重要的转录因子。总的来说，我的研究项目将通过综合、比较和多学科的方法，在行为和神经水平上深入研究声音交流。