Kersten Ylva, Friedrich-Müller Bettina, Nieder Andreas
Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
J Comp Neurol. 2021 Jul 1;529(10):2576-2595. doi: 10.1002/cne.25112. Epub 2021 Jan 29.
The song system of songbirds (oscines) is one of the best studied neuroethological model systems. So far, it has been treated as a relatively constrained sensorimotor system. Songbirds such as crows, however, are also known for their capability to cognitively control their audio-vocal system. Yet, the neuroanatomy of the corvid song system has never been explored systematically. We aim to close this scientific gap by presenting a stereotactic investigation of the extended song system of the carrion crow (Corvus corone), an oscine songbird of the corvid family that has become an interesting model system for cognitive neuroscience. In order to identify and delineate the song nuclei, the ascending auditory nuclei, and the descending vocal-motor nuclei, four stains were applied. In addition to the classical Nissl-, myelin-, and a combination of Nissl-and-myelin staining, staining for tyrosine hydroxylase was used to reveal the distribution of catecholaminergic neurons (dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and adrenergic) in the song system. We show that the crow brain contains the important song-related nuclei, including auditory input and motor output structures, and map them throughout the brain. Fiber-stained sections reveal putative connection patterns between the crow's song nuclei comparable to other songbirds.
鸣禽（雀形目）的鸣唱系统是研究最为深入的神经行为学模型系统之一。到目前为止，它一直被视为一个相对受限的感觉运动系统。然而，像乌鸦这样的鸣禽也以其对听觉-发声系统的认知控制能力而闻名。然而，鸦科鸣唱系统的神经解剖结构从未被系统地探索过。我们旨在通过对食腐鸦（Corvus corone）的扩展鸣唱系统进行立体定位研究来填补这一科学空白，食腐鸦是鸦科的一种雀形目鸣禽，已成为认知神经科学中一个有趣的模型系统。为了识别和描绘鸣唱核团、听觉上行核团和发声运动下行核团，我们应用了四种染色方法。除了经典的尼氏染色、髓鞘染色以及尼氏-髓鞘联合染色外，还使用酪氨酸羟化酶染色来揭示鸣唱系统中儿茶酚胺能神经元（多巴胺能、去甲肾上腺素能和肾上腺素能）的分布。我们发现乌鸦大脑中包含重要的与鸣唱相关的核团，包括听觉输入和运动输出结构，并在整个大脑中对它们进行了定位。纤维染色切片揭示了乌鸦鸣唱核团之间可能的连接模式，这与其他鸣禽相似。
