PSYCHOBIOLOGY AND NEUROETHOLOGY OF SEXUAL SIGNALING

性信号的心理生物学和神经行为学

• 批准号: 2445417
• 负责人: HOWARD Carl GERHARDT
• 金额: $ 9.39万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1994
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1994-07-01 至 1999-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2445417
• 关键词: Anura; behavioral /social science research tag; biological models; biological signal transduction; ethology; geographic site; instinct; microelectrodes; neural information processing; neurophysiology; polyploidy; psychoacoustics; psychobiology; sex behavior; sound; vocalization

The overall goal of the proposed research program is to gain knowledge about basic mechanisms and evolution of acoustic communication systems in vertebrates, using frogs as a model system. Frogs do not rely on acoustic experience to produce or to recognize species-specific communication signals, and they can be studied using genetic-developmental and neurophysiological techniques that would be difficult or impossible to apply in higher vertebrates. This research will provide insights into fundamental mechanisms of the neural processing and evolution of complex, temporal patterns of the acoustical signaling that mediates sexual responsiveness and mate recognition. Analogous sounds form basic elements of the human speech code that are recognized by human infants with little prior exposure to human language. The proposed research will thus address issues concerning the biological bases of the inborn neural specificity for species-typical patterns that are later modified in higher animals by experience. The normal development and maintenance of speech communication have an obvious and critical bearing on human mental health. The main study species will be treefrogs that communicate by stereotyped signals in which the most important biologically relevant information is encoded in temporal patterns. These include the repetition rate and shape of sound pulses, which identify the species and are also geographically specific, and call duration and repetition rate, which are used by females for intraspecific mate choice. Behavioral studies will determine the relative importance of these temporal properties in determining the overall effectiveness of a signal in eliciting phonotactic responses from female frogs. The neurophysiological methodology will include recordings of neural responses in freely moving, behaving animals. The evolutionary aspects of acoustic communication by temporal codes will be addressed by studying the selective and genetic bases of geographical variation in both male signals and female selectivity for these signals. Finally, behavioral, anatomical and neurophysiological studies of artificially produced polyploid frogs will provide insights into the possible mechanisms that gave rise to different temporal codes and parallel selectivity for those codes in a pair of cryptic diploid-tetraploid treefrog species. The release time made possible by an RSA will permit the P.I. to devote nearly full time effort to basic research, to lead a research team composed of undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, and to form collaborative arrangements with other neuroethologists. The Division of Biological Sciences of the University of Missouri has a strong commitment to basic research in neurobiology and neuroethology that is manifest in recent and planned recruitment of new faculty in this area.

拟议的研究计划的总体目标是获取知识 关于声学通信系统的基本机制和演变 脊椎动物，使用青蛙作为模型系统。青蛙不依赖声学 生产或识别特定物种交流的经验 信号，可以使用遗传发展和 神经生理技术很难或不可能 涂在较高的脊椎动物中。这项研究将为您提供见解 神经加工和复杂演化的基本机制， 介导性的声学信号的时间模式 响应能力和伴侣的认可。类似的声音形成基本元素 人类言语代码被人类婴儿所认可的很少 事先接触人类语言。因此，拟议的研究将解决 有关天生神经特异性生物基础的问题 对于种类典型的模式，后来在高等动物中通过 经验。语音交流的正常发展和维护 对人类心理健康有明显且至关重要的影响。 主要研究物种将是通过刻板印象进行交流的树蛙 最重要的生物学信息的信号是 按时间模式编码。这些包括重复率和形状 声音脉冲，识别物种，也是地理上的 特定和通话时间和重复率，女性使用 用于种内伴侣的选择。行为研究将确定 这些时间特性在确定这些时间特性的相对重要性 信号在引起音调响应中的总体有效性 女青蛙。神经生理学方法将包括记录 自由移动，行为动物的神经反应。进化 通过时间代码将解决声学通信的各个方面 研究两者中地理变异的选择性和遗传基础 男性信号和女性对这些信号的选择性。最后， 人为的行为，解剖学和神经生理研究 产生的多倍体青蛙将提供有关可能的洞察力 产生不同时间代码和平行的机制 一对密码二倍四倍体中这些代码的选择性 树蛙种。 RSA使得释放时间将允许P.I.奉献 几乎全职努力进行基础研究，领导研究团队 由本科生，研究生和博士后组成 研究人员，并与其他 神经媒介学家。大学生物科学系 密苏里州对神经生物学基础研究和 在最近和计划的新招募中，神经人体体体学显然是 该地区的教师。