発声と聴覚の中枢における相互関係

―ヒトのモデルとしてのトリの場合―

抄録

The mammalian motor cortex sends efferent motor commands and receives two kinds of feedback, internal and external. The avian vocal command center, robustus archistriatalis (RA) which corresponds to the mammalian motor cortex, also receives internal and external feedback which are integrated in the hyperstriatum ventralis pars caudalis (HVc) . The present study clarifies the avian feedback path by analysing neural substrates in the HVc: the HVc contains 3 kinds of neurons in which auditory responses interact and constitute both feedback paths. A speculative theory of the song production mechanism is discussed on the basis of the evidence of synaptic connections between three kinds of the HVc neurons.