鳴鳥(niǎo)會(huì)學(xué)習(xí)發(fā)音,，即它們會(huì)學(xué)習(xí)去模仿“老師”的叫聲,。在一個(gè)嘈雜的群落中,，這意味著鳴鳥(niǎo)個(gè)體需要區(qū)分自己發(fā)出的聲音和其他鳥(niǎo)兒發(fā)出的聲音,，從而使其能夠準(zhǔn)確匹配學(xué)到的叫聲模板,。為此,，人們長(zhǎng)期假設(shè),，同人類一樣,，鳴鳥(niǎo)也擁有一個(gè)能探測(cè)聲音錯(cuò)誤的大腦機(jī)制。現(xiàn)在,，George Keller 和Richard Hahnlose在斑胸草雀的聽(tīng)覺(jué)前腦中發(fā)現(xiàn)了專門對(duì)叫聲或回放聲音的擾動(dòng)做出反應(yīng)的神經(jīng)元,，說(shuō)明在其前腦的聽(tīng)覺(jué)區(qū)域存在一個(gè)糾正錯(cuò)誤的計(jì)算功能。這一發(fā)現(xiàn)證實(shí),，很早之前就建立起來(lái)的一個(gè)理論概念——“內(nèi)部模型理論”是聲音模仿學(xué)習(xí)的基礎(chǔ),。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Nature 457, 187-190 (8 January 2009) | doi:10.1038/nature07467
Neural processing of auditory feedback during vocal practice in a songbird
Georg B. Keller1 & Richard H. R. Hahnloser1
1 Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich/ETH Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Songbirds are capable of vocal learning and communication1, 2 and are ideally suited to the study of neural mechanisms of complex sensory and motor processing. Vocal communication in a noisy bird colony and vocal learning of a specific song template both require the ability to monitor auditory feedback3, 4 to distinguish self-generated vocalizations from external sounds and to identify mismatches between the developing song and a memorized template acquired from a tutor5. However, neurons that respond to auditory feedback from vocal output have not been found in song-control areas despite intensive searching6, 7, 8. Here we investigate feedback processing outside the traditional song system, in single auditory forebrain neurons of juvenile zebra finches that were in a late developmental stage of song learning. Overall, we found similarity of spike responses during singing and during playback of the bird's own song, with song responses commonly leading by a few milliseconds. However, brief time-locked acoustic perturbations of auditory feedback revealed complex sensitivity that could not be predicted from passive playback responses. Some neurons that responded to playback perturbations did not respond to song perturbations, which is reminiscent of sensory-motor mirror neurons8, 9. By contrast, some neurons were highly feedback sensitive in that they responded vigorously to song perturbations, but not to unperturbed songs or perturbed playback. These findings suggest that a computational function of forebrain auditory areas may be to detect errors between actual feedback and mirrored feedback deriving from an internal model of the bird's own song or that of its tutor. Such feedback-sensitive spikes could constitute the key signals that trigger adaptive motor responses to song disruptions10, 11 or reinforce exploratory motor gestures for vocal learning12.
