Hamilton K S, King A P, Sengelaub D R, West M J
Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA.
Neurobiol Learn Mem. 1997 Nov;68(3):325-32. doi: 10.1006/nlme.1997.3781.
The song control region in the avian forebrain is a series of discrete, interconnected nuclei mediating song learning and production. It has been studied in males or in species where both sexes sing. Little is known about the neural correlates of song perception in nonsinging females, often the intended recipients of song. We studied cowbirds (Molothrus ater), a species in which only males sing but in which females discriminate between males on the basis of song. We focused on nucleus lMAN because it has been implicated in early song acquisition, a stage relevant to both sexes to choose among competing acoustic models. We found that volume of lMAN was monomorphic in cowbirds. Moreover, the volume and neuronal number of female lMAN were positively correlated with selectivity of copulatory responding. The results provide strong evidence of nonsinging female's use of "song" control nuclei for song perception without the possibility of song production.
鸟类前脑中的鸣唱控制区域是一系列离散且相互连接的核团，介导鸣唱学习和发声。该区域已在雄性或两性都会鸣唱的物种中得到研究。对于不鸣唱的雌性鸟类（通常是鸣唱的目标受众）的鸣唱感知神经关联了解甚少。我们研究了褐头牛鹂（Molothrus ater），这是一种只有雄性会鸣唱，但雌性会根据歌声区分雄性的物种。我们聚焦于侧巨细胞核（lMAN），因为它与早期鸣唱习得有关，而这一阶段对于两性在竞争的声学模型中进行选择都很重要。我们发现，褐头牛鹂的侧巨细胞核体积是单态的。此外，雌性侧巨细胞核的体积和神经元数量与交配反应的选择性呈正相关。这些结果为不鸣唱的雌性利用“鸣唱”控制核团进行鸣唱感知（且无发声可能性）提供了有力证据。
