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A canary's song sounds sweet and innocent, to us anyway.
無論如何，我們總是感覺金絲雀的叫聲甜美清澈。
But for male birds, music is actually part of a testosterone-fueled mating ritual.
但是對于雄鳥而言，歌聲實(shí)際上只是由雄性激素引發(fā)交配儀式的一部分內(nèi)容。
So what's the pathway from hormone to harmonics?
那么從荷爾蒙到和聲是如何轉(zhuǎn)變的呢？
It was thought that male canaries became motivated to sing when testosterone hit the specific brain region normally responsible for mating behavior.
據(jù)說雄性金絲雀在激素刺激大腦負(fù)責(zé)交配行為的特殊區(qū)域時，才會變得喜歡用歌唱表達(dá)愛意。
It's called the medial preoptic nucleus, or POM.
這一區(qū)域被稱為內(nèi)側(cè)視前核，或簡稱POM。
To find out, scientists first gelded some unfortunate individuals.
為了探尋答案，科學(xué)家們首先將一些不幸的小鳥閹割。
Some of these canaries received doses of testosterone to the POM only.
其中一些只在POM區(qū)域被注射一定量的激素。
Others got broad testosterone exposure throughout the brain.
另一些鳥兒則在整個大腦區(qū)域被注射了適量激素。
After treatment, both groups of canaries began singing.
注射完成后，兩組金絲雀都開始一展歌喉。
Although they sang roughly the same amount, the birds receiving broad hormone doses made music that was louder and of higher quality.
盡管唱的次數(shù)大致上差不多，但大腦整體接受激素的金絲雀唱歌明顯在聲音和質(zhì)量上更為不錯。
They also sang more while potential mates were present.
而在潛在異性出現(xiàn)在眼前，它們會唱的更多。
The study is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
該項(xiàng)研究已經(jīng)在《美國國家科學(xué)院院刊》 上發(fā)表。
So testosterone in the POM does inspire mating behavior.
因此POM區(qū)域的激素確實(shí)會影響交配活動。
But the hormone must act more globally to create a proper performance.
但是整個范圍內(nèi)的激素才能創(chuàng)造更好的表現(xiàn)。
Quality courtship requires a complete bird brain.
看來想要抱得美鳥歸還得需要整個大腦的參與。
