Behavioural Neurobiology of Avian Communication

这项研究计划探讨了环境如何影响鸣禽的行为和大脑。更具体地说，我将研究如何在当地环境的变化，如一天的长度（光周期）或住房条件影响男性和女性的声音行为和感知，以及它们如何影响大脑中的神经区域，这是重要的歌唱和处理发声。这些神经测量包括新细胞的出生率，对歌曲重要的区域的大小，以及神经元对声音刺激的反应。我将使用两种鸣禽物种：斑胸草雀（Taeniopygia guttata）和黑顶山雀（Poecile atricapillus）作为项目中的互补模型系统，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标是研究住房的差异，如一个笼子里的富集水平或鸟类数量，如何影响神经发生，或新神经元的出生，迁移和存活。第二和第三类研究涉及感知的季节性变化以及对感知发声很重要的神经区域。温带鸣禽如山雀对光周期的变化很敏感：从短日照到长日照的变化会使鸟类受到光刺激（或使它们进入繁殖状态），而从长日照到短日照的变化会使鸟类对光不敏感（使鸟类进入非繁殖状态）。繁殖条件反过来影响山雀的行为（例如鸣叫）和大脑（例如神经反应的选择性）。 我们将继续研究光周期如何影响感知，方法是：（1）通过在操作室中测试鸟类的感知能力，研究繁殖条件如何影响鸟类区分声音刺激的能力，这些声音刺激来自它们自己和其他物种;（2）研究繁殖条件如何影响立即早期基因Zenk，一种神经区域大脑活动的标志物，对声音感知和FoxP 2的表达很重要，FoxP 2是一种对声音交流很重要的转录因子。总的来说，我的研究计划将采用综合、比较和多学科的方法，在行为和神经层面提供对声音交流的深入了解。

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.