Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD, USA.
Front Integr Neurosci. 2010 Dec 14;4:128. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2010.00128. eCollection 2010.
All non-human primates communicate with conspecifics using vocalizations, a system involving both the production and perception of species-specific vocal signals. Much of the work on the neural basis of primate vocal communication in cortex has focused on the sensory processing of vocalizations, while relatively little data are available for vocal production. Earlier physiological studies in squirrel monkeys had shed doubts on the involvement of primate cortex in vocal behaviors. The aim of the present study was to identify areas of common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) cortex that are potentially involved in vocal communication. In this study, we quantified cFos expression in three areas of marmoset cortex - frontal, temporal (auditory), and medial temporal - under various vocal conditions. Specifically, we examined cFos expression in these cortical areas during the sensory, motor (vocal production), and sensory-motor components of vocal communication. Our results showed an increase in cFos expression in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex as well as the medial and lateral belt areas of auditory cortex in the vocal perception condition. In contrast, subjects in the vocal production condition resulted in increased cFos expression only in dorsal premotor cortex. During the sensory-motor condition (antiphonal calling), subjects exhibited cFos expression in each of the above areas, as well as increased expression in perirhinal cortex. Overall, these results suggest that various cortical areas outside primary auditory cortex are involved in primate vocal communication. These findings pave the way for further physiological studies of the neural basis of primate vocal communication.
所有非人类灵长类动物都通过发声与同类进行交流，这是一种涉及到物种特异性发声信号产生和感知的系统。皮质中关于灵长类动物发声交流神经基础的大部分工作都集中在发声的感觉处理上，而关于发声产生的相关数据则相对较少。早期松鼠猴的生理学研究对皮质在发声行为中的参与提出了质疑。本研究旨在确定普通狨猴（Callithrix jacchus）皮质中可能参与发声交流的共有区域。在这项研究中，我们在三种狨猴皮质区域——额叶、颞叶（听觉）和内侧颞叶——中量化了 cFos 的表达，以适应不同的发声条件。具体来说，我们在这些皮质区域中检查了在发声感知、发声运动（发声产生）和发声感知运动组成部分中的 cFos 表达。我们的结果表明，在发声感知条件下，腹外侧前额叶皮质以及听觉皮质的内侧和外侧带区域的 cFos 表达增加。相比之下，在发声产生条件下，仅在背侧运动前皮质中观察到 cFos 表达增加。在感知运动条件（对呼呼叫）下，每个上述区域以及边缘回皮质的 cFos 表达都增加。总的来说，这些结果表明，初级听觉皮质以外的各种皮质区域都参与了灵长类动物的发声交流。这些发现为进一步研究灵长类动物发声交流的神经基础铺平了道路。
