Cheng M F, Havens M H
Institute of Animal Behavior, Rutgers State University, Newark, NJ 07102.
Brain Res Bull. 1993;30(5-6):711-5. doi: 10.1016/0361-9230(93)90105-k.
The avian midbrain vocal control nucleus, n. intercollicularis (ICo), receives inputs from midbrain auditory nucleus and from a subdivision of auditory thalamus, suggesting a possibility of auditory response units in the ICo. Using single-unit recordings, we explored auditory response units throughout the dorsomedial midbrain of female ring doves under deep general anesthesia (acute preparation). We found exclusively in the ICo, units that responded preferentially to taped courtship coos of conspecifics (male or female coos) and units that responded to specific frequencies present in coos. Units in the midbrain auditory nucleus also responded to these auditory stimulation in a tonotopic fashion, and were responsive to tone burst as well. The results, along with data from other experiments, suggest that species-specific sound responsive units within the ICo may mediate acoustically facilitated female coos and endocrine responses of the ring dove.
鸟类中脑发声控制核团，即中脑间核（ICo），接收来自中脑听觉核团和听觉丘脑一个亚区的输入，这表明ICo中存在听觉反应单元的可能性。我们使用单单元记录法，在深度全身麻醉（急性制备）下，探究了雌性环鸽背内侧中脑的听觉反应单元。我们仅在ICo中发现了优先对同种个体（雄性或雌性咕咕声）录制的求偶咕咕声作出反应的单元，以及对咕咕声中特定频率作出反应的单元。中脑听觉核团中的单元也以音频拓扑方式对这些听觉刺激作出反应，并且对短纯音也有反应。这些结果，连同其他实验的数据，表明ICo内物种特异性声音反应单元可能介导环鸽声学促进的雌性咕咕声和内分泌反应。
