Department of Psychology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Behav Brain Res. 2013 Apr 15;243:184-90. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.01.007. Epub 2013 Jan 15.
There is both extensive species-specificity and critical experience-dependence in the recognition of own species songs in many songbird species. For example, female zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata raised by their parents show behavioral preferences for the songs of the father over unfamiliar conspecific males and for unfamiliar songs of conspecifics over heterospecifics. Behavioral discrimination between different species' songs is also displayed by females raised without exposure to any male songs but it is diminished in females raised by heterospecific foster parents. We tested whether neural responses in the female auditory forebrain paralleled each of these known behavioral patterns in song-class discrimination. We analyzed spike rates, above background levels, recorded from single units in the L2a subregion of the field L complex of female zebra finches. In subjects raised by genetic parents, spike rates were similar to songs of fathers and unfamiliar male zebra finches, and higher to unfamiliar conspecific over unfamiliar heterospecific songs. In females raised in isolation from male songs, we also found higher spike rates to unfamiliar conspecific over heterospecific songs. In females raised by heterospecific foster parents, spike rates were similar in response to songs of the foster father and unfamiliar males of the foster species, similar between unfamiliar songs of conspecifics and the heterospecific foster species, and higher to unfamiliar songs of the foster species over a third finch species. Thus, in parallel to the experience-dependence of females' behaviors in response to different male song classes, differences in social experiences can also alter neural response patterns to male song classes in the auditory forebrain of female zebra finches.
在许多鸣禽物种中，识别自己物种的歌曲既有广泛的物种特异性，也有关键的经验依赖性。例如，由父母饲养的雌性斑马雀 Taeniopygia guttata 对父亲的歌曲表现出行为偏好，而对陌生的同种雄性和陌生的同种歌曲表现出行为偏好。没有接触过任何雄性歌曲的雌性也表现出对不同物种歌曲的行为区分，但在由异源养母饲养的雌性中，这种区分能力会减弱。我们测试了雌性听觉前脑中的神经反应是否与歌曲分类辨别中的这些已知行为模式相平行。我们分析了记录于雌性斑马雀 L 复合体的 L2a 亚区的单个神经元的背景以上的尖峰率。在由遗传父母饲养的被试中，尖峰率与父亲和陌生雄性斑马雀的歌曲相似，对陌生同种歌曲的尖峰率高于对陌生异源种歌曲的尖峰率。在与雄性歌曲隔离饲养的雌性中，我们也发现对陌生同种歌曲的尖峰率高于对异源种歌曲的尖峰率。在由异源养母饲养的雌性中，对养父亲的歌曲和陌生的养物种雄性的尖峰率相似，对陌生的同种歌曲和陌生的异源种的尖峰率相似，对陌生的养物种歌曲的尖峰率高于对第三雀种歌曲的尖峰率。因此，与雌性对不同雄性歌曲类别的行为经验依赖性平行的是，社会经验的差异也可以改变雌性斑马雀听觉前脑中对雄性歌曲类别的神经反应模式。
