Whaling C S, Nelson D A, Marler P
Section of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis 95616-8761, USA.
Dev Psychobiol. 1995 Nov;28(7):367-76. doi: 10.1002/dev.420280703.
Bird song is a complex, learned behavior. Vocal learning in sparrows involves several different processes that occur in a distinct temporal pattern over the course of the first year of life. Songs are acquired without practice during a sensitive period within the first 3 months of life and rehearsal of the acquired song does not begin until 7 or 8 months of age. The function of the storage period between song acquisition and production is not known. We set out to investigate its significance by administering testosterone, known to stimulate production of adult song, to birds at 100 days of age after song acquisition was completed but some 5 months prior to normal song onset. Most testosterone-treated birds produced abnormal songs resembling those of males raised in acoustic isolation suggesting that, in sparrows, events occurring during the storage phase play a significant role in vocal learning.
鸟鸣是一种复杂的、后天习得的行为。麻雀的发声学习涉及几个不同的过程，这些过程在生命的第一年以独特的时间模式发生。歌曲是在出生后的前3个月内的一个敏感期内无需练习就习得的，而对习得歌曲的排练直到7或8个月大时才开始。歌曲习得和发声之间的存储期的功能尚不清楚。我们通过给在歌曲习得完成后但在正常发声开始前约5个月的100日龄鸟类注射睾酮（已知能刺激成年歌曲的产生）来研究其意义。大多数接受睾酮治疗的鸟类发出的异常歌曲类似于在声学隔离环境中饲养的雄性鸟类的歌曲，这表明，在麻雀中，存储阶段发生的事件在发声学习中起着重要作用。
