Hage Steffen R, Jürgens Uwe
Department of Neurobiology, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Eur J Neurosci. 2006 Feb;23(3):840-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.04595.x.
Very little is known about the coordination of muscles involved in mammalian vocalization at the level of single neurons. In the present study, a telemetric single-unit recording technique was used to explore the ventrolateral pontine brainstem for vocalization-correlated activity in the squirrel monkey during vocal communication. We found a discrete area in the reticular formation just above the superior olivary complex showing vocalization-correlated activity. These neurons showed an increase in neuronal activity exclusively just before and during vocalization; none of them was active during mastication, swallowing or quiet respiration. Furthermore, the neuronal activity of these neurons reflected acoustic features, such as call duration or syllable structure of frequency-modulated vocalization, directly. Based on these findings and previously reported anatomical data, we propose that this area serves as a vocal pattern generator for frequency-modulated call types.
在单神经元水平上，对于参与哺乳动物发声的肌肉协调情况知之甚少。在本研究中，一种遥测单单元记录技术被用于在松鼠猴进行声音交流时，探索腹外侧脑桥脑干中与发声相关的活动。我们在橄榄上复合体上方的网状结构中发现了一个离散区域，该区域显示出与发声相关的活动。这些神经元仅在发声前和发声过程中神经元活动增加；在咀嚼、吞咽或安静呼吸时它们均不活跃。此外，这些神经元的活动直接反映了声学特征，如叫声持续时间或调频发声的音节结构。基于这些发现以及先前报道的解剖学数据，我们提出该区域作为调频叫声类型的发声模式发生器。
