Review: Songbird Model Plays a Unique Biological Role in Language Learning
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1)Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, China;2)School of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China

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This work was supported by grants from The National Natural Science Foundation of China (32160123, 31860605, 31660292, 31472002), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (20212ACB205002, 20212BAB205003, 20202BABL205022).

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    Abstract:

    Songbirds’ singing is similar to human language, which is a complex vocal learning behavior and is regulated by a group of interconnected nerve nuclei in the brain. These song control nuclei have a certain degree of structural homology with the brain regions related to human vocal control, and may share some basic regulation mechanisms of vocal learning. Therefore, songbirds have become an important model animal to study the neural mechanism of vocal learning, which can not only shed light on avian language learning, but also provide an important reference for understanding the neural process of human language learning and the treatment of language disorders. Willams Thorpe from University of Cambridge took the lead in bird singing research in 1948. Subsequently, many researchers in the United States used a variety of experimental techniques to carry out the study of birdsong neurobiology. In the 1960s, Chinese scholar Professor LAN Shu-Cheng first carried out the research on bird singing neurobiology in the Northeast Normal University, and then the researchers in Beijing Normal University, South China Normal University, Hainan Normal University and Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University carried out the researches on the neural mechanism of bird singing using molecular biology and electrophysiological technology. In recent years, the application of songbird model in interdisciplinary research of vocal behavior and neurobiology mainly focuses on the mechanism of vocal plasticity; the neurotransmitters, sex hormones and other bioactive substances regulated the song behavior; the effect of auditory feedback on song behavior and application of photogenetic technology and genomics in this field. In the future, frontier technologies such as single cell sequencing and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing have pushed these research fields to a deeper level. In addition, the effects of neurotransmitters on the neural network regulation of songbirds’ song control nuclei and song behavior need to be further studied. At the same time, the application of some new fluorescent probes will help to further reveal the regulatory role of neurotransmitters in the singing process of songbirds. The neurobiological study of songbirds’ song behavior will bring important enlightenment and theoretical support to the exploration of the pathogenesis and treatment of human language disorder related diseases. In conclusion, this paper systematically summarizes the research history, important findings and research progress of songbird song behavior, as well as the important enlightenment for the treatment of related central nervous system diseases.

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WANG Song-Hua, LI Dong-Feng, MENG Wei.Review: Songbird Model Plays a Unique Biological Role in Language Learning[J]. Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics,2022,49(5):874-882

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History
  • Received:April 02,2022
  • Revised:April 12,2022
  • Accepted:April 12,2022
  • Online: May 20,2022
  • Published: May 20,2022