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，鸣禽在发育的敏感时期最有效地从成年导师那里学习有意义的发声。虽然在理解声音产生的运动控制方面已经取得了进展，但先于和直接声音结构的感觉记忆的神经机制大多是不确定的。在像斑胸草雀这样的鸣禽中，前脑听觉小叶（AL）是哺乳动物初级和次级听觉皮层的功能同源物，参与成年鸣叫识别，并保留幼年时期听到的导师鸣叫的痕迹。因此，AL 可能是发展性感官导师歌曲学习所必需的。此外，基因表达研究表明，仅在成年鸣禽的学习相关环境中诱导的基因在发育鸣叫学习的感觉阶段在 AL 中组成型表达。因此，假设 AL 以及 AL 中发育和经验调节的基因表达对于发育过程中最佳感觉歌曲学习是必要的。为了检验这一假设，我们设计了三项研究：(1) 行为测试 AL 和 AL 中的分子过程对于导师歌曲记忆是必需的，(2) 沉默 AL 中的单个基因以测试它们在发育性感觉歌曲学习中的功能，以及 (3 ）识别并确认一组可能塑造 AL 以实现最佳感官学习的基因。这些研究对感官歌曲学习背后的分子事件进行了全面而有凝聚力的研究，而感官歌曲学习是歌曲发声的基础。斑胸草雀对于这些研究来说是一个非常有用的模型，因为一些感觉鸣叫学习发生在发声开始之前，从而可以将感觉与发育鸣叫学习的运动和感觉运动成分分开。 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研究人员，也适用于那些对人类语言习得感兴趣的人。 > 沟通能力是基础，大多数人使用声音沟通来应对复杂的社交生活。声音学习在生命早期是最有效的，其进展类似于鸟类学习歌曲的方式，人和鸟类都主要依靠对听到的发声的感觉处理来塑造自己的发声。因此，对鸣禽导师鸣声的感官学习的研究为人类语言习得背后的听觉机制提供了重要的见解。