Neural mechanisms of animal vocalization and communication

该研究项目涉及老鼠的声音交流。发声被用作一种测量工具，使我们能够研究情绪状态的大脑机制。老鼠通过超声波进行交流，这超出了人类的听力范围。然而，它们的叫声是由与人类大脑结构相似的(同源的)大脑结构产生和控制的，这些结构涉及情绪唤醒和我们情绪状态的声音表达。这项拟议的研究集中在两个递质系统(多巴胺能和胆碱能)上，它们来自脑干(被盖)和神经结构，产生情绪唤醒和将信息传递给其他老鼠的发声。多巴胺能系统的活动启动食欲(愉快)状态，发出50 kHz的叫声，而胆碱能系统的活动启动厌恶(不愉快)状态，发出22 kHz的叫声。这些发声携带着发送给其他老鼠的信息，并在研究中被用作相关大脑系统活动和有机体结果状态的衡量标准。该建议包括研究多巴胺能和胆碱能系统之间的相互作用，以及允许大脑选择和启动食欲或厌恶状态的机制，但不是两者一起。该项目还包括对控制情绪状态的其他大脑系统(在下丘脑)的研究。在发声中编码的信息(符号内容)，以及它们从婴儿期到成年期的发展，也将随着多巴胺和胆碱能递质系统在同一年龄段的发展而被研究。

The program of research concerns vocal communication in rats. Vocalizations are used as a measuring tool allowing us to study brain mechanisms of emotional states. Rats communicate by ultrasonic calls, which are beyond the hearing range of humans. However, their calls are produced and controlled by similar (homologue) brain structures to those in the human brain that are involved in emotional arousal and vocal expression of our emotional states. The proposed research is focused on two transmitter systems (dopaminergic and cholinergic) originating from the brain stem (tegmentum) and innervating structures generating emotional arousal and emission of vocalizations that carry messages to other rats. Activity of the dopaminergic system initiates an appetitive (pleasant) state with emission of 50 kHz calls, while activity of the cholinergic system initiates an aversive (unpleasant) state with emission of 22 kHz calls. These vocalizations carry messages addressed to other rats and are used in research as a measure of the activity of relevant brain systems and the resulting state of the organism. The proposal includes investigation of the interaction between the dopaminergic and cholinergic systems and the mechanisms allowing the brain to select and initiate either the appetitive or aversive state, but not both of them together. The project also includes studies of other brain systems (in the hypothalamus) controlling emotive states. Messages coded in the vocalizations (semiotic content), as well as their development from infancy to adulthood, will also be studied, along with the development of the dopaminergic and cholinergic transmitter systems throughout the same ages.