Animal Communication: Vocal Learning

2006 ◽  
pp. 291-294
Author(s):  
P.J.B. Slater
Keyword(s):  
Animal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning

scholarly journals What can animal communication teach us about human language?

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R. Fishbein ◽  
Jonathan B. Fritz ◽  
William J. Idsardi ◽  
Gerald S. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Theme Issue

Language has been considered by many to be uniquely human. Numerous theories for how it evolved have been proposed but rarely tested. The articles in this theme issue consider the extent to which aspects of language, such as vocal learning, phonology, syntax, semantics, intentionality, cognition and neurobiological adaptations, are shared with other animals. By adopting a comparative approach, insights into the mechanisms and origins of human language can be gained. While points of agreement exist among the authors, conflicting viewpoints are expressed on several issues, such as the presence of proto-syntax in animal communication, the neural basis of the Merge operation, and the neurogenetic changes necessary for vocal learning. Future comparative research in animal communication has the potential to teach us even more about the evolution, neurobiology and cognitive basis of human language. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals Towards a new taxonomy of primate vocal production learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Fischer ◽  
Kurt Hammerschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Auditory Comprehension ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Ontogenetic Trajectory ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Species Specific

The extent to which vocal learning can be found in nonhuman primates is key to reconstructing the evolution of speech. Regarding the adjustment of vocal output in relation to auditory experience (vocal production learning in the narrow sense), effects on the ontogenetic trajectory of vocal development as well as adjustment to group-specific call features have been found. Yet, a comparison of the vocalizations of different primate genera revealed striking similarities in the structure of calls and repertoires in different species of the same genus, indicating that the structure of nonhuman primate vocalizations is highly conserved. Thus, modifications in relation to experience only appear to be possible within relatively tight species-specific constraints. By contrast, comprehension learning may be extremely rapid and open-ended. In conjunction, these findings corroborate the idea of an ancestral independence of vocal production and auditory comprehension learning. To overcome the futile debate about whether or not vocal production learning can be found in nonhuman primates, we suggest putting the focus on the different mechanisms that may mediate the adjustment of vocal output in response to experience; these mechanisms may include auditory facilitation and learning from success. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals Behaviour, biology and evolution of vocal learning in bats

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja C. Vernes ◽  
Gerald S. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Current State ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Shed Light

The comparative approach can provide insight into the evolution of human speech, language and social communication by studying relevant traits in animal systems. Bats are emerging as a model system with great potential to shed light on these processes given their learned vocalizations, close social interactions, and mammalian brains and physiology. A recent framework outlined the multiple levels of investigation needed to understand vocal learning across a broad range of non-human species, including cetaceans, pinnipeds, elephants, birds and bats. Here, we apply this framework to the current state-of-the-art in bat research. This encompasses our understanding of the abilities bats have displayed for vocal learning, what is known about the timing and social structure needed for such learning, and current knowledge about the prevalence of the trait across the order. It also addresses the biology (vocal tract morphology, neurobiology and genetics) and evolution of this trait. We conclude by highlighting some key questions that should be answered to advance our understanding of the biological encoding and evolution of speech and spoken communication. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals The multi-dimensional nature of vocal learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja C. Vernes ◽  
Buddhamas Pralle Kriengwatana ◽  
Veronika C. Beeck ◽  
Julia Fischer ◽  
Peter L. Tyack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Communication ◽  
Continuous Distribution ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Complex Behaviour ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Auditory Models ◽  
Widespread Agreement ◽  
Key Dimensions

How learning affects vocalizations is a key question in the study of animal communication and human language. Parallel efforts in birds and humans have taught us much about how vocal learning works on a behavioural and neurobiological level. Subsequent efforts have revealed a variety of cases among mammals in which experience also has a major influence on vocal repertoires. Janik and Slater ( Anim. Behav. 60 , 1–11. ( doi:10.1006/anbe.2000.1410 )) introduced the distinction between vocal usage and production learning, providing a general framework to categorize how different types of learning influence vocalizations. This idea was built on by Petkov and Jarvis ( Front. Evol. Neurosci. 4 , 12. ( doi:10.3389/fnevo.2012.00012 )) to emphasize a more continuous distribution between limited and more complex vocal production learners. Yet, with more studies providing empirical data, the limits of the initial frameworks become apparent. We build on these frameworks to refine the categorization of vocal learning in light of advances made since their publication and widespread agreement that vocal learning is not a binary trait. We propose a novel classification system, based on the definitions by Janik and Slater, that deconstructs vocal learning into key dimensions to aid in understanding the mechanisms involved in this complex behaviour. We consider how vocalizations can change without learning, and a usage learning framework that considers context specificity and timing. We identify dimensions of vocal production learning, including the copying of auditory models (convergence/divergence on model sounds, accuracy of copying), the degree of change (type and breadth of learning) and timing (when learning takes place, the length of time it takes and how long it is retained). We consider grey areas of classification and current mechanistic understanding of these behaviours. Our framework identifies research needs and will help to inform neurobiological and evolutionary studies endeavouring to uncover the multi-dimensional nature of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

scholarly journals Birdsong as a window into language origins and evolutionary neuroscience

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin M. Aamodt ◽  
Madza Farias-Virgens ◽  
Stephanie A. White
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Critical Periods ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Transcriptional Changes ◽  
Functional Relevance ◽  
Song Control

Humans and songbirds share the key trait of vocal learning, manifested in speech and song, respectively. Striking analogies between these behaviours include that both are acquired during developmental critical periods when the brain's ability for vocal learning peaks. Both behaviours show similarities in the overall architecture of their underlying brain areas, characterized by cortico-striato-thalamic loops and direct projections from cortical neurons onto brainstem motor neurons that control the vocal organs. These neural analogies extend to the molecular level, with certain song control regions sharing convergent transcriptional profiles with speech-related regions in the human brain. This evolutionary convergence offers an unprecedented opportunity to decipher the shared neurogenetic underpinnings of vocal learning. A key strength of the songbird model is that it allows for the delineation of activity-dependent transcriptional changes in the brain that are driven by learned vocal behaviour. To capitalize on this advantage, we used previously published datasets from our laboratory that correlate gene co-expression networks to features of learned vocalization within and after critical period closure to probe the functional relevance of genes implicated in language. We interrogate specific genes and cellular processes through converging lines of evidence: human-specific evolutionary changes, intelligence-related phenotypes and relevance to vocal learning gene co-expression in songbirds. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals A taxonomy for vocal learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20180406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter L. Tyack
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Feedback ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Complex Form ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Animal Vocalizations ◽  
Species Specific

Humans and songbirds learn to sing or speak by listening to acoustic models, forming auditory templates, and then learning to produce vocalizations that match the templates. These taxa have evolved specialized telencephalic pathways to accomplish this complex form of vocal learning, which has been reported for very few other taxa. By contrast, the acoustic structure of most animal vocalizations is produced by species-specific vocal motor programmes in the brainstem that do not require auditory feedback. However, many mammals and birds can learn to fine-tune the acoustic features of inherited vocal motor patterns based upon listening to conspecifics or noise. These limited forms of vocal learning range from rapid alteration based on real-time auditory feedback to long-term changes of vocal repertoire and they may involve different mechanisms than complex vocal learning. Limited vocal learning can involve the brainstem, mid-brain and/or telencephalic networks. Understanding complex vocal learning, which underpins human speech, requires careful analysis of which species are capable of which forms of vocal learning. Selecting multiple animal models for comparing the neural pathways that generate these different forms of learning will provide a richer view of the evolution of complex vocal learning and the neural mechanisms that make it possible. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

Infant Vocal Learning

1961 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-112
Author(s):  
Harris Winitz
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Learning

The Rain Calls of Frogs and the Reigning Paradigm of American Herpetology

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Gordon L. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Gradual Disappearance ◽  
The Times ◽  
Traditional Natural ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
The Comparative Study

American zoologists and herpetologists during the past fifty years have successfully deciphered the mating calls of frogs and toads with ever increasing precision and sophistication. However, the vocalizations most commonly termed “rain calls,” which typically occur beyond both normal breeding seasons and breeding sites, have remained a persistent puzzle. This article traces the gradual disappearance of rain calls, along with a corresponding decline in any mention of emotional states, from herpetological studies of anuran vocalizations in the United States from the middle of the twentieth century to the present and examines the historical roots of this disappearance. This evaporation of rain calls is indicative of a much larger change in the scientific climate of the times involving the transition from traditional natural history to the Neo-Darwinian, adaptationist paradigm of contemporary biology. Rain calls thus increasingly became anomalous, thereby eliminating a possibly fruitful line of inquiry in the comparative study of human-animal communication, in this case with evolution's earliest vocalizers. The contours and benefits of a more encompassing paradigm, envisioned by some leading early twentieth-century zoologists, are briefly discussed.

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