近日，美国纽约大学Michael A. Long及其团队发现，丘脑驱动斑马雀求偶歌的发声方式。2023年3月22日，《自然》杂志在线发表了这项成果。
研究人员发现丘脑驱动参与了斑马雀鸣唱核HVC（专有名词）内的一个特定的前运动神经元亚群，这些输入对发声运动元素（即“音节”）之间的进展至关重要。HVC中丘脑轴突的体内双光子成像显示出强大的与歌曲有关的活动，丘脑功能的在线扰动导致歌曲在音节边界被截断。研究人员用丘脑刺激来识别了HVC中稀疏的丘脑驱动的神经元，占该网络中前运动神经元的约15%。
出乎意料的是，在音节开始之前，这组假定的丘脑驱动神经元是强劲活跃的，这导致了丘脑输入可以通过选择性地针对这些“启动细胞”来启动单个歌曲成分的可能性。这些研究结果突出了运动丘脑在与伦理学相关的行为序列中作为大脑皮层动态的指导。
据介绍，虽然运动皮层回路包含与特定运动参数有关的信息，但长程输入在动作执行中也有关键作用。丘脑投射可以塑造运动前的活动，并被认为介导了由更复杂的行为组成的简短的、定型的动作的选择。然而，丘脑与运动皮层回路相互作用以执行这种运动序列的机制仍然是未知的。
附：英文原文
Title: Thalamus drives vocal onsets in the zebra finch courtship song
Author: Moll, Felix W., Kranz, Devorah, Corredera Asensio, Ariadna, Elmaleh, Margot, Ackert-Smith, Lyn A., Long, Michael A.
Issue&Volume: 2023-03-22
Abstract: While motor cortical circuits contain information related to specific movement parameters1, long-range inputs also have a critical role in action execution2,3. Thalamic projections can shape premotor activity2,3,4,5,6 and have been suggested7 to mediate the selection of short, stereotyped actions comprising more complex behaviours8. However, the mechanisms by which thalamus interacts with motor cortical circuits to execute such movement sequences remain unknown. Here we find that thalamic drive engages a specific subpopulation of premotor neurons within the zebra finch song nucleus HVC (proper name) and that these inputs are critical for the progression between vocal motor elements (that is, ‘syllables’). In vivo two-photon imaging of thalamic axons in HVC showed robust song-related activity, and online perturbations of thalamic function caused song to be truncated at syllable boundaries. We used thalamic stimulation to identify a sparse set of thalamically driven neurons within HVC, representing ~15% of the premotor neurons within that network. Unexpectedly, this population of putative thalamorecipient neurons is robustly active immediately preceding syllable onset, leading to the possibility that thalamic input can initiate individual song components through selectively targeting these ‘starter cells’. Our findings highlight the motor thalamus as a director of cortical dynamics in the context of an ethologically relevant behavioural sequence.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05818-x
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05818-x
Nature：《自然》，创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：69.504
官方网址：http://www.nature.com/
投稿链接：http://www.nature.com/authors/submit_manuscript.html
本期文章：《自然》：Online/在线发表
