Section of General Linguistics, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain; University of Barcelona Institute for Complex Systems (UBICS), 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Department of Systematic Musicology, University of Cologne, 50923 Cologne, Germany.
Trends Cogn Sci. 2021 Jun;25(6):462-474. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.03.007. Epub 2021 Mar 30.
Domesticated and vocal learning species can serve as informative model organisms for the reduction of reactive aggression and emergence of speech in our lineage. Amidst mounting evidence that domestication modifies vocal repertoires across different species, we focus on the domesticated Bengalese finch, which has a more complex song than the wild-type white-rumped munia. Our explanation for this effect revolves around the glutamate neurotransmitter system. Glutamate signaling (i) is implicated in birdsong learning, (ii) controls dopamine activity in neural circuits crucial for vocal learning, (iii) is disproportionately targeted in the evolution of domesticates, and (iv) regulates stress responses and aggressive behaviors attenuated under domestication. We propose that attenuated excitation of stress-related neural circuits potentiates vocal learning via altered dopaminergic signaling.
家养和有发声学习能力的物种可以作为信息丰富的模式生物，用于减少我们谱系中的反应性攻击和言语的出现。越来越多的证据表明，驯化会改变不同物种的发声范围，我们专注于驯化的孟加拉雀，它的歌声比野生型白腰文鸟更复杂。我们对这种现象的解释围绕着谷氨酸神经递质系统。谷氨酸信号（i）与鸟鸣学习有关，（ii）控制着对发声学习至关重要的神经回路中的多巴胺活性，（iii）在驯化的进化中受到不成比例的靶向，（iv）调节应激反应和攻击性行为，这些行为在驯化下会减弱。我们提出，应激相关神经回路的兴奋减弱通过改变多巴胺能信号增强了发声学习。
