Aronov Dmitriy, Andalman Aaron S, Fee Michale S
McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Science. 2008 May 2;320(5876):630-4. doi: 10.1126/science.1155140.
Young animals engage in variable exploratory behaviors essential for the development of neural circuitry and adult motor control, yet the neural basis of these behaviors is largely unknown. Juvenile songbirds produce subsong-a succession of primitive vocalizations akin to human babbling. We found that subsong production in zebra finches does not require HVC (high vocal center), a key premotor area for singing in adult birds, but does require LMAN (lateral magnocellular nucleus of the nidopallium), a forebrain nucleus involved in learning but not in adult singing. During babbling, neurons in LMAN exhibited premotor correlations to vocal output on a fast time scale. Thus, juvenile singing is driven by a circuit distinct from that which produces the adult behavior-a separation possibly general to other developing motor systems.
幼小动物会进行各种探索行为，这些行为对于神经回路的发育和成年后的运动控制至关重要，但这些行为的神经基础在很大程度上仍不为人所知。幼年鸣禽会发出亚歌——一系列类似于人类牙牙学语的原始发声。我们发现，斑胸草雀发出亚歌并不需要HVC（高级发声中枢），这是成年鸟类唱歌的关键运动前区，但确实需要LMAN（巢皮质外侧大细胞核），这是一个参与学习但不参与成年后唱歌的前脑核。在牙牙学语期间，LMAN中的神经元在快速时间尺度上表现出与发声输出的运动前相关性。因此，幼年唱歌是由一个与产生成年行为的回路不同的回路驱动的——这种分离可能在其他发育中的运动系统中普遍存在。
