Barclay S R, Harding C F, Waterman S A
Biopsychology Program, Hunter College, CUNY, NY 10021.
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1992 Jan;41(1):195-201. doi: 10.1016/0091-3057(92)90082-q.
In zebra finches, the combined actions of estrogens and androgens activate male courtship, including singing, and also strongly modulate norepinephrine (NE) levels and turnover in brain areas known to be involved in controlling courtship behavior. To determine whether changes in NE levels mediate changes in courtship, we administered DSP-4 to males and measured its effects on monoamine levels and reproductive behavior. DSP-4 treatment did not affect serotonin (5-HT), had small, variable effects on dopamine (DA), and caused moderate, nonsignificant reductions in NE. However, in DSP-4-treated males, NE levels in specific vocal-control nuclei showed high positive correlations with courtship singing. There were no significant correlations between NE levels in hypothalamic nuclei and any behavior or DA or 5-HT levels in any nuclei and any behavior. DSP-4-treated males took longer to begin singing and performed fewer song bouts and courtship displays, but their songs could not be differentiated from those of control males. This suggests that their behavioral deficits resulted from deficits in attention rather than an inability to sing.
在斑胸草雀中，雌激素和雄激素的联合作用会激活雄性求偶行为，包括唱歌，并且还会强烈调节已知参与控制求偶行为的脑区中的去甲肾上腺素（NE）水平和周转率。为了确定NE水平的变化是否介导求偶行为的变化，我们给雄性斑胸草雀注射了DSP-4，并测量其对单胺水平和生殖行为的影响。DSP-4处理对血清素（5-HT）没有影响，对多巴胺（DA）有微小的、可变的影响，并导致NE适度但不显著的降低。然而，在接受DSP-4处理的雄性斑胸草雀中，特定发声控制核中的NE水平与求偶唱歌呈高度正相关。下丘脑核中的NE水平与任何行为之间没有显著相关性，任何核中的DA或5-HT水平与任何行为之间也没有显著相关性。接受DSP-4处理的雄性斑胸草雀开始唱歌的时间更长，唱歌回合和求偶展示的次数更少，但它们的歌声与对照雄性的歌声没有区别。这表明它们的行为缺陷是由注意力缺陷导致的，而不是无法唱歌。
