Article abstract
Nature Neuroscience 12, 927 - 931 (2009)
Published online: 14 June 2009 | doi:10.1038/nn.2336
Adult birdsong is actively maintained by error correction
Samuel J Sober1 & Michael S Brainard1
Abstract
Humans learn to speak by a process of vocal imitation that requires the availability of auditory feedback. Similarly, young birds rely on auditory feedback when learning to imitate the songs of adult birds, providing one of the few examples of nonhuman vocal learning. However, although humans continue to use auditory feedback to correct vocal errors in adulthood, the mechanisms underlying the stability of adult birdsong are unknown. We found that, similar to human speech, adult birdsong is maintained by error correction. We perturbed the pitch (fundamental frequency) of auditory feedback in adult Bengalese finches using custom-designed headphones. Birds compensated for the imposed auditory error by adjusting the pitch of song. When the perturbation was removed, pitch returned to baseline. Our results indicate that adult birds correct vocal errors by comparing auditory feedback to a sensory target and suggest that lifelong error correction is a general principle of learned vocal behavior.
- W.M. Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, San Francisco, California, USA.
Correspondence to: Samuel J Sober1 e-mail: sam@phy.ucsf.edu
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Locating an error correction signal for adult birdsongNature Neuroscience News and Views (01 May 2000)
Malleable templates: reshaping our crystallized skills to create new outcomesNature Neuroscience News and Views (01 Mar 2008)
See all 13 matches for News And ViewsRESEARCH
Precise auditory?vocal mirroring in neurons for learned vocal communicationNature Article (17 Jan 2008)
Performance variability enables adaptive plasticity of ?crystallized? adult birdsongNature Letters to Editor (20 Dec 2007)
See all 39 matches for Research
