Neural and Genetic Basis of Vocal Communication

描述（申请人提供）：声音交流是人类高度发达的特征，是人类社会互动的核心模式。因此，人类声音交流障碍是一项重大的公共卫生挑战。幸运的是，声音交流不是人类独有的，可以在鸣禽和啮齿动物身上进行实验研究。作为人类语言习得的动物模型，鸟类的鸣叫无法与之匹敌，因为就像人类婴儿一样，羽翼未丰满的鸣禽通过模仿成年照顾者的声音来学习它们的发声。相比之下，啮齿动物模型提供了一种相对孤立于发声运动学习机制的研究声音感知的方法。啮齿类动物模型也带来了在遗传、分子和系统水平上干扰大脑的强大工具的显著优势。然而，为了最大限度地提高对人类健康的潜在益处，重要的是开始整合跨物种的发现，以确定最保守的机制，因为这些机制最有可能与人类共享。我们提议召开题为“声音交流的神经和遗传基础”的会议，是对美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）几位院长提出的兴趣的直接回应，目的是促进研究鸟鸣和哺乳动物声音交流模型的研究人员之间的对话和参与。我们会议的目标是确定支持鸣禽、哺乳动物和人类之间声音交流的神经和遗传组织的一般原则，将重点放在未来研究的途径上，这将对人类健康产生最大的积极影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Vocal communication is a highly developed trait in humans, providing a core mode of human social interaction. Disorders of vocal communication in humans therefore represent a significant public health challenge. Fortunately, vocal communication is not uniquely human, and can be studied experimentally in songbirds and rodents. Birdsong has no equal as an animal model of human language acquisition because, like human infants, fledgling songbirds learn their vocalizations by imitating the vocal sounds of their adult care-givers. By comparison, rodent models provide a means to study the perception of vocal sounds in relative isolation from the mechanisms of vocal-motor learning. Rodent models also bring the significant advantage of powerful tools for perturbing the brain at the genetic, molecular, and systems level. However, to maximize the potential benefit to human health it is important to begin to integrate findings across species in order to identify the most deeply conserved mechanisms, as these are the mechanisms most likely to be shared with humans. Our proposed conference titled 'NEURAL AND GENETIC BASIS OF VOCAL COMMUNICATION' is a direct response to interest stated by several Directors of NIH Institutes to facilitate dialog and engagement between researchers who study birdsong and mammalian models of vocal communication. The goal of our conference will be to identify the general principles of neural and genetic organization that support vocal communication across songbirds, mammals, and humans, bringing into focus the avenues of future investigation that will produce the greatest positive impact on human health. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Vocal communication is at the core of the human experience and understanding and treating human speech-language pathologies remains a significant public health challenge. Fortunately, vocal communication is not unique to humans and this challenge has been addressed in part by experimental studies of vocal communication in songbirds and rodents. However, to maximize human benefit it is important to begin to integrate findings across species in order to identify the most deeply conserved mechanisms, as these are the mechanisms most likely to be shared with humans. A conference is proposed (NEURAL AND GENETIC BASIS OF VOCAL COMMUNICATION) that will identify conserved neural and genetic mechanisms for vocal communication in songbirds, rodents, and humans, bringing into focus the avenues of future investigation that will produce the greatest positive impact on human health.