Duque F G, Rodriguez-Saltos C A, Uma S, Nasir I, Monteros M F, Wilczynski W, Carruth L L
Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Sci Adv. 2020 Jul 17;6(29):eabb9393. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abb9393. eCollection 2020 Jul.
Some hummingbirds produce unique high-frequency vocalizations. It remains unknown whether these hummingbirds can hear these sounds, which are produced at frequencies beyond the range at which most birds can hear. Here, we show behavioral and neural evidence of high-frequency hearing in a hummingbird, the Ecuadorian Hillstar (). In the field, hummingbirds responded to playback of high-frequency song with changes in body posture and approaching behavior. We assessed neural activation by inducing ZENK expression in the brain auditory areas in response to the high-frequency song. We found higher ZENK expression in the auditory regions of hummingbirds exposed to the high-frequency song compared to controls, while no difference was observed in the hippocampus between groups. The behavioral and neural responses show that this hummingbird can hear sounds at high frequencies. This is the first evidence of the use of high-frequency vocalizations and high-frequency hearing in conspecific communication in a bird.
一些蜂鸟会发出独特的高频叫声。目前尚不清楚这些蜂鸟是否能听到这些声音，因为这些声音的频率超出了大多数鸟类能听到的范围。在这里，我们展示了厄瓜多尔山星蜂鸟高频听力的行为和神经学证据。在野外，蜂鸟听到高频歌声回放时，身体姿势和接近行为会发生变化。我们通过诱导大脑听觉区域中ZENK表达来评估对高频歌声的神经激活情况。我们发现，与对照组相比，接触高频歌声的蜂鸟听觉区域中ZENK表达更高，而两组之间海马体中未观察到差异。行为和神经反应表明，这种蜂鸟能够听到高频声音。这是鸟类在同种交流中使用高频叫声和高频听力的首个证据。
