Highlights•Genetic identification of brainstem neurons that gate mouse USVs.•Attractor
networks may convert auditory stimuli into vocal action.•The motor cortex plays a role in …

Vocalization is an ancient vertebrate trait essential to many forms of communication, ranging
from courtship calls to free verse. Vocalizations may be entirely innate and evoked by sexual …

Songbirds have become the most prominent animal model to reveal the neural mechanisms
underlying vocal learning. Similar to other forms of sensorimotor learning, vocal learning in …

This chapter highlights the similarities and differences between learned song, in birds and
other animal models, and speech and song in humans, by reviewing the comparative …

Like humans, songbirds are one of the few animal groups that learn vocalization. Vocal
learning requires coordination of auditory input and vocal output using auditory feedback to …

Songbirds, like humans, are highly accomplished vocal learners. The many parallels
between speech and birdsong and conserved features of mammalian and avian auditory …

Highlights•Adaptive vocal development extends beyond imitation and template-
matching.•Songbirds and humans share the capacity to converge towards species-typical …

▪ Abstract Human speech and birdsong have numerous parallels. Both humans and
songbirds learn their complex vocalizations early in life, exhibiting a strong dependence on …

A hallmark of sensitive periods of development is an enhanced capacity for learning, such
that experience exerts a profound effect on the brain resulting in the establishment of …

Songbirds are extraordinary vocalists and sensitive listeners, singing to communicate
identity, engage other birds in acoustical combat, and attract mates. These processes …