scholarly journals Prenatal auditory learning in avian vocal learners and non-learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
pp. 20200247
Author(s):  
Diane Colombelli-Négrel ◽  
Mark E. Hauber ◽  
Christine Evans ◽  
Andrew C. Katsis ◽  
Lyanne Brouwer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Gene Activation ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Response Strength ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
In Ovo ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Auditory Learning ◽  
New Research ◽  
Sound Learning

Understanding when learning begins is critical for identifying the factors that shape both the developmental course and the function of information acquisition. Until recently, sufficient development of the neural substrates for any sort of vocal learning to begin in songbirds was thought to be reached well after hatching. New research shows that embryonic gene activation and the outcome of vocal learning can be modulated by sound exposure in ovo . We tested whether avian embryos across lineages differ in their auditory response strength and sound learning in ovo , which we studied in vocal learning (Maluridae, Geospizidae) and vocal non-learning (Phasianidae, Spheniscidae) taxa. While measuring heart rate in ovo , we exposed embryos to (i) conspecific or heterospecific vocalizations, to determine their response strength, and (ii) conspecific vocalizations repeatedly, to quantify cardiac habituation, a form of non-associative learning. Response strength towards conspecific vocalizations was greater in two species with vocal production learning compared to two species without. Response patterns consistent with non-associative auditory learning occurred in all species. Our results demonstrate a capacity to perceive and learn to recognize sounds in ovo , as evidenced by habituation, even in species that were previously assumed to have little, if any, vocal production learning. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

scholarly journals Vocal production learning in the pale spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus discolor

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 20190928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ella Z. Lattenkamp ◽  
Sonja C. Vernes ◽  
Lutz Wiegrebe
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Acoustic Signals ◽  
Auditory Target ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Learning Capacity ◽  
Directional Change ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Phyllostomus Discolor

Vocal production learning (VPL), or the ability to modify vocalizations through the imitation of sounds, is a rare trait in the animal kingdom. While humans are exceptional vocal learners, few other mammalian species share this trait. Owing to their singular ecology and lifestyle, bats are highly specialized for the precise emission and reception of acoustic signals. This specialization makes them ideal candidates for the study of vocal learning, and several bat species have previously shown evidence supportive of vocal learning. Here we use a sophisticated automated set-up and a contingency training paradigm to explore the vocal learning capacity of pale spear-nosed bats. We show that these bats are capable of directional change of the fundamental frequency of their calls according to an auditory target. With this study, we further highlight the importance of bats for the study of vocal learning and provide evidence for the VPL capacity of the pale spear-nosed bat.

Public Opinion and Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Foyle
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
New Media ◽  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Opinion Dynamics ◽  
Domestic Policy ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
New Research ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Dramatic changes in the way the public acquires information and formulates its attitudes have potentially altered the opinion and foreign policy relationship. While traditional approaches have treated public opinion on domestic and foreign matters as largely distinct, the culmination of a series of changes may eliminate the effective distinction between foreign and domestic policy, at least in terms of how the American political system operates. All the factors central to the opinion and foreign policy process, such as information acquisition, attitude formation, media effects, the effect of opinion on policy, and presidential leadership now appear to mirror the processes observed at the domestic level. This analysis reviews historical trends in the literature on public opinion and foreign policy that has focused on the rationality of the public’s opinions, the structure of its attitudes, and its influence on foreign policymaking. The traditional Almond-Lippmann consensus portrayed an emotional public with unstructured attitudes and little influence on foreign policy; however, revisionist views have described a reasonable public with largely structured views on foreign policy that can, at times, constrain and even drive those policies. More recently, the rise of “intermestic” issues, contain both domestic and international elements, such as globalization, inequality, terrorism, immigration, and climate change, have interacted to transform the domestic and international context. The bulk of this analysis highlights emerging new research directions that should be pursued in light of the changes. First, scholars should continue to evaluate the “who thinks what and why” questions with particular attention to differences between high- and low-information individuals, the effect of misinformation, and information sources. In doing so, research should build on research from non-American contexts that points to the important influences of societal and institutional factors. In addition to continued examination of traditional demographic factors such as partisanship and ideology, additional attention should turn to consider potential genetic and biological foundations of attitudes. Finally, researchers should continue to evaluate how the new media environment, including social media, affects how the public accesses information, how the media provides information, and how political elites attempt to shape both. Given these changes, scholars should consider whether it continues to make sense to treat public opinion dynamics regarding foreign policy as distinct from domestic policy and its implications.

scholarly journals Development of neural responsivity to vocal sounds in higher level auditory cortex of songbirds

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa C. Miller-Sims ◽  
Sarah W. Bottjer
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Response Strength ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Unexpected Result ◽  
Salient Stimulus ◽  
Evoked Activity ◽  
High Level ◽  
Persistent Response

Like humans, songbirds learn vocal sounds from “tutors” during a sensitive period of development. Vocal learning in songbirds therefore provides a powerful model system for investigating neural mechanisms by which memories of learned vocal sounds are stored. This study examined whether NCM (caudo-medial nidopallium), a region of higher level auditory cortex in songbirds, serves as a locus where a neural memory of tutor sounds is acquired during early stages of vocal learning. NCM neurons respond well to complex auditory stimuli, and evoked activity in many NCM neurons habituates such that the response to a stimulus that is heard repeatedly decreases to approximately one-half its original level (stimulus-specific adaptation). The rate of neural habituation serves as an index of familiarity, being low for familiar sounds, but high for novel sounds. We found that response strength across different song stimuli was higher in NCM neurons of adult zebra finches than in juveniles, and that only adult NCM responded selectively to tutor song. The rate of habituation across both tutor song and novel conspecific songs was lower in adult than in juvenile NCM, indicating higher familiarity and a more persistent response to song stimuli in adults. In juvenile birds that have memorized tutor vocal sounds, neural habituation was higher for tutor song than for a familiar conspecific song. This unexpected result suggests that the response to tutor song in NCM at this age may be subject to top-down influences that maintain the tutor song as a salient stimulus, despite its high level of familiarity.

scholarly journals Re-evaluating vocal production learning in non-oscine birds

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carel ten Cate
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Broad Definition ◽  
Interspecific Variations ◽  
Phylogenetic Framework ◽  
Definition Of

The study of vocal production learning in birds is heavily biased towards oscine songbirds, making the songbird model the reference for comparative studies. However, as vocal learning was probably ancestral in songbirds, interspecific variations might all be variations on a single theme and need not be representative of the nature and characteristics of vocal learning in other bird groups. To assess the possible mechanisms of vocal learning and its evolution therefore requires knowledge about independently evolved incidences of vocal learning. This review examines the presence and nature of vocal production learning in non-songbirds. Using a broad definition of vocal learning and a comparative phylogenetic framework, I evaluate the evidence for vocal learning and its characteristics in non-oscine birds, including well-known vocal learners such as parrots and hummingbirds but also (putative) cases from other taxa. Despite the sometimes limited evidence, it is clear that vocal learning occurs in a range of different, non-related, taxa and can be caused by a variety of mechanisms. It is more widespread than often realized, calling for more systematic studies. Examining this variation may provide a window onto the evolution of vocal learning and increase the value of comparative research for understanding vocal learning in humans. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

scholarly journals Morphological facilitators for vocal learning explored through the syrinx anatomy of a basal hummingbird

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Monte ◽  
Alexander F. Cerwenka ◽  
Bernhard Ruthensteiner ◽  
Manfred Gahr ◽  
Daniel N. Düring
Keyword(s):  
Sound Production ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Micro Computed Tomography ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
Acoustic Space ◽  
Biomechanical Factors ◽  
Intrinsic Musculature

AbstractVocal learning is a rare evolutionary trait that evolved independently in three avian clades: songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds. Although the anatomy and mechanisms of sound production in songbirds are well understood, little is known about the hummingbird’s vocal anatomy. We use high-resolution micro-computed tomography (μCT) and microdissection to reveal the three-dimensional structure of the syrinx, the vocal organ of the black jacobin (Florisuga fusca), a phylogenetically basal hummingbird species. We identify three unique features of the black jacobin’s syrinx: (i) a shift in the position of the syrinx to the outside of the thoracic cavity and the related loss of the sterno-tracheal muscle, (ii) complex intrinsic musculature, oriented dorso-ventrally, and (iii) ossicles embedded in the medial vibratory membranes. Their syrinx morphology allows vibratory decoupling, precise control of complex acoustic parameters, and a large redundant acoustic space that may be key biomechanical factors facilitating the occurrence of vocal production learning.

scholarly journals Vocal production learning in mammals revisited

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
pp. 20200244
Author(s):  
Vincent M. Janik ◽  
Mirjam Knörnschild
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Type Result ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Acoustic Models ◽  
Vocal Convergence ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Vocal production learning, the ability to modify the structure of vocalizations as a result of hearing those of others, has been studied extensively in birds but less attention has been given to its occurrence in mammals. We summarize the available evidence for vocal learning in mammals from the last 25 years, updating earlier reviews on the subject. The clearest evidence comes from cetaceans, pinnipeds, elephants and bats where species have been found to copy artificial or human language sounds, or match acoustic models of different sound types. Vocal convergence, in which parameter adjustments within one sound type result in similarities between individuals, occurs in a wider range of mammalian orders with additional evidence from primates, mole-rats, goats and mice. Currently, the underlying mechanisms for convergence are unclear with vocal production learning but also usage learning or matching physiological states being possible explanations. For experimental studies, we highlight the importance of quantitative comparisons of seemingly learned sounds with vocal repertoires before learning started or with species repertoires to confirm novelty. Further studies on the mammalian orders presented here as well as others are needed to explore learning skills and limitations in greater detail. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

scholarly journals Phylogenetic and kinematic constraints on avian flight signals

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1911) ◽  
pp. 20191083
Author(s):  
K. S. Berg ◽  
S. Delgado ◽  
A. Mata-Betancourt
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Power Stroke ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Vocal Plasticity ◽  
Avian Flight ◽  
Physiological Limits ◽  
Kinematic Relationship

Many birds vocalize in flight. Because wingbeat and respiratory cycles are often linked in flying vertebrates, birds in these cases must satisfy the respiratory demands of vocal production within the physiological limits imposed by flight. Using acoustic triangulation and high-speed video, we found that avian vocal production in flight exhibits a largely phasic and kinematic relationship with the power stroke. However, the sample of species showed considerable flexibility, especially those from lineages known for vocal plasticity (songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds), prompting a broader phylogenetic analysis. We thus collected data from 150 species across 12 avian orders and examined the links between wingbeat period, flight call duration and body mass. Overall, shorter wingbeat periods, controlling for ancestry and body mass, were correlated with shorter flight call durations. However, species from vocal learner lineages produced flight signals that, on average, exceeded multiple phases of their wingbeat cycle, while vocal non-learners had signal periods that were, on average, closer to the duration of their power stroke. These results raise an interesting question: is partial emancipation from respiratory constraints a necessary step in the evolution of vocal learning or an epiphenomenon? Our current study cannot provide the answer, but it does suggest several avenues for future research.

scholarly journals Conjunction of Vocal Production and Perception Regulates Expression of the Immediate Early Gene ZENK in a Novel Cortical Region of Songbirds

2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 1833-1842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah W. Bottjer ◽  
Tanya L. Alderete ◽  
Daniel Chang
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Early Gene ◽  
Vocal Behavior ◽  
Projection Neurons ◽  
Cortical Region ◽  
Developmentally Regulated ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Cortical Nucleus ◽  
Magnocellular Nucleus ◽  
Low Levels

The cortical nucleus LMAN (lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium) provides the output of a basal ganglia pathway that is necessary for acquisition of learned vocal behavior during development in songbirds. LMAN is composed of two subregions, a core and a surrounding shell, that give rise to independent pathways that traverse the forebrain in parallel. The LMANshell pathway forms a recurrent loop that includes a cortical region, the dorsal region of the caudolateral nidopallium (dNCL), hitherto unknown to be involved with learned vocal behavior. Here we show that vocal production strongly induces the IEG product ZENK in dNCL of zebra finches. Hearing tutor song while singing is more effective at inducing expression in dNCL of juvenile birds during the auditory–motor integration stage of vocal learning than is hearing conspecific song. In contrast, hearing conspecific song is relatively more effective at inducing expression in adult birds, regardless of whether they are producing song. Furthermore, ZENK+ neurons in dNCL include projection neurons that are part of the LMANshell recurrent loop and a high proportion of dNCL projection neurons express ZENK in singing juvenile birds that hear tutor song. Thus juvenile birds that are actively refining their vocal pattern to imitate a tutor song show high levels of ZENK induction in dNCL neurons when they are singing while hearing the song of their tutor and low levels when they hear a novel conspecific. This pattern indicates that dNCL is a novel brain region involved with vocal learning and that its function is developmentally regulated.

AUDITORY EXPERIENCE DOES NOT SHAPE SEXUAL PREFERENCES FOR SONGS IN FEMALE NORTHERN CARDINALS

Behaviour ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayako Yamaguchi
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Memory Trace ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Song Type ◽  
Vocal Performance ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Song Types ◽  
Northern Cardinals

AbstractBird song is typically used by males to attract females. As a consequence of the vocal learning process, the acoustic morphology of male songs shows marked geographic variation. Whether females use variation in male songs to choose mates has been controversial (reviewed by Catchpole & Slater, 1995). In some species, the song types that females produce when treated hormonally have been considered to be the song types they prefer in the context of mate choice. To examine this notion, I investigated the song type preferences of female northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) using a more direct measure, copulation solicitation display. Unlike females of many other species of songbirds in the Temperate zone, female cardinals naturally develop songs by imitating adults just as males do, allowing direct identification of when and what song types are memorized by females for vocal production. I sought to determine if the memory trace formed for vocal performance is identical with the memory trace that guides song type preference in a sexual context, and whether females truly form any song type preference based on auditory experience during the first year of their lives. To address these questions, audio-video playback experiments were carried out on captive-raised adult cardinals whose complete auditory history was known. The results showed that female cardinals did not come to prefer any song type based on experience; they responded equally to all conspecific song types. Thus, memory formed for vocal production in females is not equal to song type preferred in sexual context. The results suggest that variation in song types is not important for mate choice in cardinals.

Biology, learning, and evolution of vocality: Biosemiotics of birdsong

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Anastasi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Verbal Language ◽  
Animal Vocalizations ◽  
Biology Learning ◽  
Natural Precursor

AbstractBirdsongs are acoustic signs that evince parallels to the symbols of verbal language. Learning is the semiotic feature that makes a birdsong more similar to typical symbolic signs than a birdcall. In contrast to calls, most birdsongs have to be learned. The aim of this paper is to emphasize that the similarities between birdsong and verbal language can be addressed by following a biological standpoint, given the shared mechanisms underlying vocal learning in birds and humans, to take a comparative perspective on the biology and evolution of these species. The reason for language’s appearance in the evolutionary scene could be explained as the chance to remain grounded in communication skills that existed in other animals. Even if the referential power of animal vocalizations is far from that of our words, both objectively and mentally, the comparative data mentioned here allows us to support the idea that the vocal production of some bird species and others animals can be considered a natural precursor of language.

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