Orientation, Cognition and the Avian Brain

定向、认知和鸟类大脑

• 批准号: 105542-2013
• 负责人: Sherry, David
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=545170
• 关键词: Orientation; Cognition; Avian; Brain

Research on spatial orientation has provided a wealth of new information and insights into cognition and its neural basis. Spatial orientation plays an important role in the lives of nearly all animals but is critical in the three groups of birds that are the focus of this research: food-storing birds, brood parasites and migratory shorebirds. Food-storing birds, like black-capped chickadees, establish thousands of spatially-dispersed food caches during the fall and winter. My previous research has shown that chickadees remember the locations of their caches and possess remarkable specialization of the hippocampus, a brain region involved in orientation and memory. The hippocampus of food-storing birds is larger than the hippocampus of non-storing birds and exhibits seasonal neurogenesis associated with food storing. Brood parasites, like brown-headed cowbirds, lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. Female cowbirds search for and remember the locations of potential host nests and have a larger hippocampus than males. Migratory shorebirds, like semipalmated sandpipers, fly 4000 km between their breeding areas in the Canadian arctic and wintering areas on the Atlantic coast of South America. This proposal describes research conducted under the previous Discovery grant on orientation, cognition and the brain of these birds and proposes new research examining: 1) Consolidation of spatial memory in the brain of food-storing birds, 2) Sex differences in spatial ability and numerical competence in brood parasites, and 3) The effect of migratory experience on two brain regions of migratory shorebirds, the hippocampus and Cluster N, a region involved in orientation to the earth's magnetic field. This research will advance our understanding of the fundamental brain mechanisms of orientation with results applicable to both animals and humans, will provide new insights into the cognitive processes of animals, and will lead to greater understanding and appreciation of the behaviour of native Canadian birds.

关于空间取向的研究为认知及其神经基础提供了大量的新信息和见解。 空间取向在几乎所有动物的生活中都起着重要的作用，但在这三组鸟类中至关重要，这是这项研究的重点：食物储存的鸟类，育雏寄生虫和迁徙鸟类。 在秋季和冬季，食物存储的鸟类（如黑色山雀）在秋天和冬季建立了数千种空间分散的食物缓存。我以前的研究表明，山雀记得其缓存的位置，并具有与方向和记忆有关的大脑区域的海马区域的显着专业化。 食物存储鸟类的海马比非存储鸟类的海马大，并展示与食物储存相关的季节性神经发生。 育雏寄生虫像棕色头头的牛鸟一样，将鸡蛋放在其他鸟的巢中。 雌牛鸟搜寻并记住潜在宿主巢的位置，并且海马比男性更大。迁徙的海鸟，例如半熟水式砂纸，在南美大西洋沿岸的加拿大北极和越冬地区之间的繁殖区域之间飞行4000公里。 This proposal describes research conducted under the previous Discovery grant on orientation, cognition and the brain of these birds and proposes new research examining: 1) Consolidation of spatial memory in the brain of food-storing birds, 2) Sex differences in spatial ability and numerical competence in brood parasites, and 3) The effect of migratory experience on two brain regions of migratory shorebirds, the hippocampus and Cluster N, a region involved in向地球磁场的方向。 这项研究将促进我们对适用于动物和人类的结果的基本大脑机制的理解，将为动物的认知过程提供新的见解，并将进一步了解加拿大鸟类的行为。