Mello C V, Ribeiro S
Laboratory of Animal Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, USA.
J Comp Neurol. 1998 Apr 20;393(4):426-38. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(19980420)393:4<426::aid-cne3>3.0.co;2-2.
When songbirds hear the song of another individual of the same species or when they sing, the mRNA levels of the ZENK gene increase rapidly in forebrain areas involved in vocal communication. This gene induction is thought to be related to long-term neuronal change and possibly the formation of song-related memories. We used immunocytochemistry to study the levels and distribution of ZENK protein in the brain of zebra finches and canaries after presentation of song playbacks. Birds that heard the playbacks and did not sing in response showed increased ZENK protein levels in auditory brain areas, including the caudomedial neostriatum and hyperstriatum ventrale, fields L1 and L3, the shelf adjacent to the high vocal center (HVC), the cup adjacent to the nucleus robustus archistriatalis (RA), and the nucleus mesencephalicus lateralis pars dorsalis (MLd). No ZENK expression was seen in song nuclei in these birds. Males that sang in response to the playbacks showed, in addition to auditory areas, increased ZENK protein in several song control nuclei, most prominently in HVC, RA, area X, and the dorsomedial nucleus (DN) of the intercollicular complex. The rise in ZENK protein followed that described previously for ZENK mRNA by a short lag, and the distribution of ZENK-labeled cells was in agreement with previous analysis of mRNA distribution. Thus, ZENK protein regulation can be used to assess activation of brain areas involved in perceptual and motor aspects of song. Possible implications of ZENK induction in these areas are discussed.
当鸣禽听到同种其他个体的歌声或它们自己唱歌时，ZENK基因的mRNA水平会在前脑参与发声交流的区域迅速升高。这种基因诱导被认为与长期的神经元变化以及可能与歌曲相关记忆的形成有关。我们使用免疫细胞化学方法研究了在播放歌曲后斑马雀和金丝雀大脑中ZENK蛋白的水平和分布。听到播放歌曲但没有做出回应的鸟类，其听觉脑区（包括尾内侧新纹状体和腹侧上纹状体、L1和L3区、与高级发声中枢（HVC）相邻的层架、与古纹状体粗核（RA）相邻的杯状结构以及中脑外侧背侧核（MLd））中的ZENK蛋白水平升高。在这些鸟类的鸣叫核中未观察到ZENK表达。对播放歌曲做出回应而唱歌的雄性鸟类，除了听觉区域外，在几个鸣叫控制核中ZENK蛋白也增加，最显著的是在HVC、RA、X区和间脑复合体的背内侧核（DN）中。ZENK蛋白的升高比之前描述的ZENK mRNA的升高滞后较短时间，并且ZENK标记细胞的分布与之前对mRNA分布的分析一致。因此，ZENK蛋白调节可用于评估参与歌曲感知和运动方面的脑区的激活情况。讨论了这些区域中ZENK诱导的可能影响。
