生物谷報道：靈長目的“鏡像”神經(jīng)元令某一個體能模仿另一個體的行為,，因為當某一個體執(zhí)行或觀察某一特定動作（如一個手勢）時，這些神經(jīng)元就會發(fā)射信號,。一個很好的例子是聲音學(xué)習(xí),，如人類語言學(xué)習(xí)和鳥類鳴叫的習(xí)得。這也許是“鏡像”神經(jīng)元的一種顯而易見的工作,，但此前一直沒有關(guān)于聽覺—聲音“鏡像”神經(jīng)元的報道?，F(xiàn)在，對沼澤帶鹀（一種像人類一樣依靠聽覺體驗來學(xué)習(xí)聲音的鳥）所作的一項研究中,，一組專門進行聽覺—聲音監(jiān)測的前腦神經(jīng)元被識別了出來,。這些神經(jīng)元對于一個給定的音符序列幾乎有同樣的反應(yīng)，而不管該音符序列是作為其歌曲的一部分“唱”出來的,，還是聽另一只鳥“唱”出來的,。
英文原文：
Nature 451, 305-310 (17 January 2008) | doi:10.1038/nature06492; Received 10 October 2007; Accepted 19 November 2007
Precise auditory–vocal mirroring in neurons for learned vocal communication
J. F. Prather1, S. Peters2, S. Nowicki1,2 & R. Mooney1
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center,
Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
Correspondence to: R. Mooney1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to R.M. (Email: [email protected]).
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Abstract
Brain mechanisms for communication must establish a correspondence between sensory and motor codes used to represent the signal. One idea is that this correspondence is established at the level of single neurons that are active when the individual performs a particular gesture or observes a similar gesture performed by another individual. Although neurons that display a precise auditory–vocal correspondence could facilitate vocal communication, they have yet to be identified. Here we report that a certain class of neurons in the swamp sparrow forebrain displays a precise auditory–vocal correspondence. We show that these neurons respond in a temporally precise fashion to auditory presentation of certain note sequences in this songbird's repertoire and to similar note sequences in other birds' songs. These neurons display nearly identical patterns of activity when the bird sings the same sequence, and disrupting auditory feedback does not alter this singing-related activity, indicating it is motor in nature. Furthermore, these neurons innervate striatal structures important for song learning, raising the possibility that singing-related activity in these cells is compared to auditory feedback to guide vocal learning.
