| Budget Amount *help |
¥42,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥33,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥9,900,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥12,870,000 (Direct Cost: ¥9,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥2,970,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥13,520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥10,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,120,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥16,510,000 (Direct Cost: ¥12,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,810,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Imitative learning involves observation and execution. Mirror neurons are suggested to be utilized in this process. These neurons fire both during observation and during excution of a particular behavior. Mirror neurons are identified in songbirds but how they are formed is not known. We found that in the high vocal center of Bengalese finches, about 25% of those neurons that project to the basal ganglia are mirror neurons showing selectivity for specific song notes both during listening and during singing. We further examined reasons why not all neurons projecting from the high vocal center to the basal ganglia are mirror neurons. We inhibited factors involved in the gene expression during development and found that the manipulation disrupted normal song development. Results suggest that during the genesis of mirror neurons, epigenetics plays an important role.
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