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Early experience shapes vocal neural coding and perception in songbirds
Author(s) -
Woolley Sarah M. N.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21014
Subject(s) - songbird , perception , psychology , vocal learning , vocal communication , auditory perception , communication , auditory feedback , speech perception , parallels , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , biology , mechanical engineering , paleontology , engineering
Songbirds, like humans, are highly accomplished vocal learners. The many parallels between speech and birdsong and conserved features of mammalian and avian auditory systems have led to the emergence of the songbird as a model system for studying the perceptual mechanisms of vocal communication. Laboratory research on songbirds allows the careful control of early life experience and high‐resolution analysis of brain function during vocal learning, production, and perception. Here, I review what songbird studies have revealed about the role of early experience in the development of vocal behavior, auditory perception, and the processing of learned vocalizations by auditory neurons. The findings of these studies suggest general principles for how exposure to vocalizations during development and into adulthood influences the perception of learned vocal signals. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals,Inc. Dev Psychobiol 54: 612–631, 2012.