From Perception to Action: The Role of Auditory Input in Shaping Vocal Communication and Social Behaviors in Birds

Elie, Julie E.; Hoffmann, Susanne; Dunning, Jeffery L.; Coleman, Melissa J.; Fortune, Eric S.; Prather, Jonathan F.

doi:10.1159/000504380

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Also, neurotoxic lesions of the NCM resulted in a decrease in tutor song preference (measured by selective approach behavior) in adult male zebra finches [14]. Similarly, it was found that CM lesions in adult female zebra finches and Bengalese finches altered the expression of song preference [58,59]. In the future, studying the correlation between behavior and neural activity as well as how behavior changes as these brain areas are manipulated will serve to more accurately interpret previously reported songrelated preference behaviors.…”

Section: Neural Mechanisms Underlying Song Memorymentioning

confidence: 89%

Sex differences in the development and expression of a preference for familiar vocal signals in songbirds

2021

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Production and perception of birdsong critically depends on early developmental experience. In species where singing is a sexually dimorphic trait, early life song experience may affect later behavior differently between sexes. It is known that both male and female songbirds acquire a life-long memory of early song experience, though its function remains unclear. In this study, we hypothesized that male and female birds express a preference for their fathers’ song, but do so differently depending on the developmental stage. We measured preference for their father’s song over an unfamiliar one in both male and female Bengalese finches at multiple time points across ontogeny, using phonotaxis and vocal response as indices of preference. We found that in males, selective approach to their father’s song decreased as they developed while in females, it remained stable regardless of age. This may correspond to a higher sensitivity to tutor song in young males while they are learning and a retained sensitivity in females because song is a courtship signal that is used throughout life. In addition, throughout development, males vocalized less frequently during presentation of their father’s song compared to unfamiliar song, whereas females emitted more calls to their father’s song. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of why songbirds acquire and maintain such a robust song memory.

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Section: Neural Mechanisms Underlying Song Memorymentioning

confidence: 89%

Sex differences in the development and expression of a preference for familiar vocal signals in songbirds

2021

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“…BFs and domestic canaries are captive species and swamp sparrows and Lincoln's sparrows are wild, yet our data suggest a similar basis of song evaluation in all four species. Our data reveal a broadly relevant pattern of song evaluation in a species that is especially useful for neurobiological studies in the laboratory [e.g., 41,42], opening the door to additional investigations of how preferences develop, how they are encoded in auditory processing, and how that information is used to direct selective mate choice behaviors. Curiously, not all of the females that we sampled expressed the same preference for accelerated tempo.…”

Section: Considering Possible Benefits Associated With Female Preferementioning

confidence: 99%

Female finches prefer courtship signals indicating male vigor and neuromuscular ability

et al. 2020

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Female songbirds use male song to discriminate among individuals and evaluate their quality as potential mates. Previous behavioral experiments in many species, including the species studied here, have shown that females will solicit copulation in response to song even if no male is present. Those data demonstrate that female mate choice is closely tied to song features, but they leave open the question of which song parameters are most influential in female mate selection. We sought to identify features of male song that are salient for mate choice in female Bengalese finches. Using a novel experimental approach, we simultaneously tested the possible influence of specific notes or note transitions, the number of different note types in the male's repertoire, the complexity of note content and note sequence, and the stereotypy of note content and note sequence. In additional experiments, we also tested the influence of the pitch and tempo of note production. Our results demonstrate that females generally preferred songs containing increased tempo in the context of species-typical frequency bandwidth, consistent with the idea that females prefer songs that are especially challenging to produce. Female preference for song features that pose a neuromuscular challenge has also been reported in other species. Our data extend those observations into a species that thrives in a laboratory setting and is commonly used in studies of the neural basis of behavior. These results provide an excellent new model system in which to study female preference and the neural mechanisms that underlie signal evaluation and mate choice.

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“…While the changes occurring in the neural network involved in vocal imitation and production have been studied in detail (for example, reviewed in [ 64 , 65 ]), the role of auditory forebrain areas in providing sensory feedback in VPL has not been studied in detail, but is receiving more and more attention [ 66 ]. In songbirds, neurons in the auditory forebrain were shown to encode information about the category of a vocalization but also about the identity of the emitter [ 67 , 68 ].…”

Section: The Behavioural Decision-making Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although we are aware that recording neural responses from auditory brain regions cannot be a standard procedure in every animal model used to study VPL, we want to briefly highlight the importance of the comparative study of the neuronal basis of VPL. While the changes occurring in the neural network involved in vocal imitation and production have been studied in detail (for example, reviewed in [64,65]), the role of auditory forebrain areas in providing sensory feedback in VPL has not been studied in detail, but is receiving more and more attention [66]. In songbirds, neurons in the auditory forebrain were shown to encode information about the category of a vocalization but also about the identity of the emitter [67,68].…”

Section: (B) Neuronal Validation Of Vocal Production Learning Via the Receivermentioning

confidence: 99%

A researcher's guide to the comparative assessment of vocal production learning

Lattenkamp

Hörpel

Mengede

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Vocal production learning (VPL) is the capacity to learn to produce new vocalizations, which is a rare ability in the animal kingdom and thus far has only been identified in a handful of mammalian taxa and three groups of birds. Over the last few decades, approaches to the demonstration of VPL have varied among taxa, sound production systems and functions. These discrepancies strongly impede direct comparisons between studies. In the light of the growing number of experimental studies reporting VPL, the need for comparability is becoming more and more pressing. The comparative evaluation of VPL across studies would be facilitated by unified and generalized reporting standards, which would allow a better positioning of species on any proposed VPL continuum. In this paper, we specifically highlight five factors influencing the comparability of VPL assessments: (i) comparison to an acoustic baseline, (ii) comprehensive reporting of acoustic parameters, (iii) extended reporting of training conditions and durations, (iv) investigating VPL function via behavioural, perception-based experiments and (v) validation of findings on a neuronal level. These guidelines emphasize the importance of comparability between studies in order to unify the field of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

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From Perception to Action: The Role of Auditory Input in Shaping Vocal Communication and Social Behaviors in Birds

Cited by 14 publications

References 48 publications

Sex differences in the development and expression of a preference for familiar vocal signals in songbirds

Sex differences in the development and expression of a preference for familiar vocal signals in songbirds

Female finches prefer courtship signals indicating male vigor and neuromuscular ability

A researcher's guide to the comparative assessment of vocal production learning

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