The relationship between perception and production in songbird vocal imitation: what learned calls can teach us

Ds, Vicario; Jn, Raksin; Nh, Naqvi; Thande, N; Hb, Simpson

doi:10.1007/s00359-002-0354-2

Cited by 25 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Statistical learning across developmental critical periods can therefore be studied as the underlying structure of the song is crystallized. Furthermore, this model provides the opportunity to assess the interplay between production and perception, as typically male and female birds have distinct vocal repertoires (Vicario et al 2002). Recent and upcoming technological advances in genetic approaches in birds will significantly aid in our understanding of the neurobiology of statistical learning of vocalizations (Heston & White 2017).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capacities and neural mechanisms for auditory statistical learning across species

Schiavo

Froemke

2019

Hearing Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Statistical learning has been proposed as a possible mechanism by which individuals can become sensitive to the structures of language fundamental for speech perception. Since its description in human infants, statistical learning has been described in human adults and several non-human species as a general process by which animals learn about stimulus-relevant statistics. The neurobiology of statistical learning is beginning to be understood, but many questions remain about the underlying mechanisms. Why is the developing brain particularly sensitive to stimulus and environmental statistics, and what neural processes are engaged in the adult brain to enable learning from statistical regularities in the absence of external reward or instruction? This review will survey the statistical learning abilities of humans and non-human animals with a particular focus on communicative vocalizations. We discuss the neurobiological basis of statistical learning, and specifically what can be learned by exploring this process in both humans and laboratory animals. Finally, we describe advantages of studying vocal communication in rodents as a means to further our understanding of the cortical plasticity mechanisms engaged during statistical learning. We examine the use of rodents in the context of pup retrieval, which is an auditory-based and experience-dependent form of maternal behavior.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Capacities and neural mechanisms for auditory statistical learning across species

Schiavo

Froemke

2019

Hearing Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Zebra finches use “long calls” to communicate between partners and between parents and offspring, especially over longer distances when visual contact is eliminated [28], [29], [30], [31], [32]. Long calls are complex sounds that have a fundamental frequency (FF) with several harmonics (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of Auditory-Vocal Perceptual Skills in Songbirds

Miller-Sims

Bottjer²

2012

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Songbirds are one of the few groups of animals that learn the sounds used for vocal communication during development. Like humans, songbirds memorize vocal sounds based on auditory experience with vocalizations of adult “tutors”, and then use auditory feedback of self-produced vocalizations to gradually match their motor output to the memory of tutor sounds. In humans, investigations of early vocal learning have focused mainly on perceptual skills of infants, whereas studies of songbirds have focused on measures of vocal production. In order to fully exploit songbirds as a model for human speech, understand the neural basis of learned vocal behavior, and investigate links between vocal perception and production, studies of songbirds must examine both behavioral measures of perception and neural measures of discrimination during development. Here we used behavioral and electrophysiological assays of the ability of songbirds to distinguish vocal calls of varying frequencies at different stages of vocal learning. The results show that neural tuning in auditory cortex mirrors behavioral improvements in the ability to make perceptual distinctions of vocal calls as birds are engaged in vocal learning. Thus, separate measures of neural discrimination and behavioral perception yielded highly similar trends during the course of vocal development. The timing of this improvement in the ability to distinguish vocal sounds correlates with our previous work showing substantial refinement of axonal connectivity in cortico-basal ganglia pathways necessary for vocal learning.

show abstract

“…From the recorded calls of a given bird, we paid attention to select one representative exemplar on the basis of a visual inspection of call structure. The female distance call consists of a harmonic series with a fundamental frequency of 400–500 Hz (Simpson and Vicario, 1990 ; Vicario et al, 2002 ; Vignal and Mathevon, 2011 ). It can be divided into three segments of different durations: the initial segment defined by a short and loud ascending frequency modulation, the stable segment defined by a long and loud plateau with no frequency modulation, and a third segment defined by a short and weak descending frequency modulation (Vignal et al, 2004 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We therefore examined the response properties of CLM neurons in male and female zebra finches using a variety of distance calls. In this highly social species, this call type is frequently produced by both sexes, especially when they lose visual contact with their social partners (Zann, 1996 ; Vicario et al, 2001 , 2002 ). In males, the distance call requires a learning process (Simpson and Vicario, 1990 ; Gentner and Margoliash, 2003 ; Forstmeier et al, 2009 ; Jeanne et al, 2011 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in the representation of call stimuli in a songbird secondary auditory area

Giret¹,

Menardy²,

Negro³

2015

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding how communication sounds are encoded in the central auditory system is critical to deciphering the neural bases of acoustic communication. Songbirds use learned or unlearned vocalizations in a variety of social interactions. They have telencephalic auditory areas specialized for processing natural sounds and considered as playing a critical role in the discrimination of behaviorally relevant vocal sounds. The zebra finch, a highly social songbird species, forms lifelong pair bonds. Only male zebra finches sing. However, both sexes produce the distance call when placed in visual isolation. This call is sexually dimorphic, is learned only in males and provides support for individual recognition in both sexes. Here, we assessed whether auditory processing of distance calls differs between paired males and females by recording spiking activity in a secondary auditory area, the caudolateral mesopallium (CLM), while presenting the distance calls of a variety of individuals, including the bird itself, the mate, familiar and unfamiliar males and females. In males, the CLM is potentially involved in auditory feedback processing important for vocal learning. Based on both the analyses of spike rates and temporal aspects of discharges, our results clearly indicate that call-evoked responses of CLM neurons are sexually dimorphic, being stronger, lasting longer, and conveying more information about calls in males than in females. In addition, how auditory responses vary among call types differ between sexes. In females, response strength differs between familiar male and female calls. In males, temporal features of responses reveal a sensitivity to the bird's own call. These findings provide evidence that sexual dimorphism occurs in higher-order processing areas within the auditory system. They suggest a sexual dimorphism in the function of the CLM, contributing to transmit information about the self-generated calls in males and to storage of information about the bird's auditory experience in females.

show abstract

The relationship between perception and production in songbird vocal imitation: what learned calls can teach us

Cited by 25 publications

References 30 publications

Capacities and neural mechanisms for auditory statistical learning across species

Capacities and neural mechanisms for auditory statistical learning across species

Development of Auditory-Vocal Perceptual Skills in Songbirds

Sex differences in the representation of call stimuli in a songbird secondary auditory area

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About