The molecular basis for developmental sensory learning

发展感觉学习的分子基础

• 批准号: 7404882
• 负责人: SARAH E LONDON
• 金额: $ 4.96万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-01-27 至 2010-01-26
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7404882
• 关键词: Adolescent; Adult; Auditory; Auditory area; Birds; Communication; Complex; Development; Dissection; Event; Foundations; Gene Expression; Genes; Goals; Hearing; Homologous Gene; Human; Individual; Investigation; Language Development; Learning; Life; Lobule; Memory; Molecular; Motor; Phase; Population; Process; Production; Prosencephalon; Research Personnel; Sensory; Sensory Process; Shapes; Signal Transduction; Songbirds; Structure; Study models; Testing; base; design; insight; interest; motor control; neuromechanism; research study; social; vocal learning; vocalization; zebra finch

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Similar to humans, songbirds learn meaningful vocalizations from an adult tutor most effectively during a sensitive period of development. While advancements have been made in understanding the motor control of vocal production, the neural mechanisms for the sensory memories that precede and direct vocal structure are mostly undefined. In songbirds like the zebra finch, the forebrain auditory lobule (AL), the functional homologue of mammalian primary and secondary auditory cortices, is involved in adult song recognition and holds a trace of the tutor song heard during juvenile life. Thus, it may be that AL is required for developmental sensory tutor song learning. Further, gene expression studies demonstrate that genes only induced in learning-related contexts in adult songbirds are constitutively expressed in AL during the sensory phase of developmental song learning. Therefore, the hypothesis was that AL, and developmentally and experientially regulated gene expression in AL, are necessary for optimal sensory song learning during development. To test this hypothesis, three studies were designed to (1) behaviorally test that AL and molecular processes within AL are required for tutor song memorization, (2) silence individual genes in AL to test their function in developmental sensory song learning, and (3) identify and confirm a suite of genes that may shape the AL for optimal sensory learning. These studies form a comprehensive and cohesive investigation of the molecular events underlying the sensory song learning that is the foundation for song vocalizations. The zebra finch is a very useful model for these studies because some sensory song learning occurs before vocalization begins, allowing the dissection of sensory from motor and sensorimotor components of developmental song learning. The function of AL and many genes are evolutionarily conserved, thus results of these experiments have application not only to songbird researchers but also those interested in human language acquisition. > The ability to communicate is fundamental, and most people use vocal communication to navigate through their complex social lives. Vocal learning is most efficient during early life, progresses similarly to how birds learn song, and both people and birds rely primarily upon sensory processing of the vocalizations they hear to shape their own vocalizations. Thus, the study of sensory learning of tutor song in songbirds provides important insights into auditory mechanisms underlying human language acquisition.

描述（由申请人提供）： 与人类类似，在敏感的发展时期，鸣禽最有效地从成人教师那里学习有意义的发声。尽管在理解人声产生的运动控制方面取得了进步，但先前和直接人声结构的感官记忆的神经机制大多是不确定的。在像斑马雀（Zebra Finch）这样的鸣禽中，前脑听觉叶（AL）是哺乳动物初级和次级听觉皮层的功能同源物，参与了成人歌曲的识别，并占据了少年生活中听到的导师歌曲的痕迹。因此，可能需要AL进行发展感官导师的歌曲学习。此外，基因表达研究表明，在发展歌曲学习的感觉阶段，在成年鸣鸟中仅诱导的与学习相关的上下文中诱导的基因。因此，假设是Al在AL中的基因表达以及在发育过程中最佳的感觉歌曲学习是必不可少的。为了检验这一假设，设计了三项研究以（1）在行为上测试Al中的Al和分子过程是教师歌曲记忆所必需的，（2）AL中的静音个体基因以测试其在发育感觉的歌曲学习中的功能，（3）识别和确认并确定一组AL，这些基因可能会为最佳的感觉学习造型。这些研究构成了对感官歌曲学习的基础的分子事件的全面和凝聚力的研究，这是歌曲发声的基础。对于这些研究，斑马雀科是一个非常有用的模型，因为某些感官歌曲学习发生在发声开始之前，可以从运动和感觉运动歌曲学习的运动和感觉运动组件中解剖。 AL和许多基因的功能在进化上是保守的，因此这些实验的结果不仅适用于鸣禽的研究人员，而且还适用于对人类语言获取感兴趣的研究人员。 >交流的能力是基本的，大多数人都使用声音交流来度过复杂的社交生活。声带学习在早期生活中最有效，与鸟类学习歌曲的发展相似，人们和鸟类都主要依靠他们听到的发声来塑造自己的发声。因此，鸣禽中对辅导歌曲的感觉学习的研究提供了对掌握人类语言基础的听觉机制的重要见解。