▪ Abstract Neuronal circuits are shaped by experience during critical periods of early
postnatal life. The ability to control the timing, duration, and closure of these heightened …

Bird fanciers have known for centuries that songbirds learn their songs. This learning has
striking parallels to speech acquisition: like humans, birds must hear the sounds of adults …

Publisher Summary This chapter outlines the evolution of geographic variation in birdsong.
Studies of vocal signals in birds offer potentially useful opportunities for empirical tests of the …

The process through which young male songbirds learn the characteristics of the songs of
an adult male of their own species has strong similarities with speech acquisition in human …

At specific stages of development, nerve and muscle cells generate spontaneous electrical
activity that is required for normal maturation of intrinsic excitability and synaptic connectivity …

Songbirds are one of the best-studied examples of vocal learners. Learning of both human
speech and birdsong depends on hearing. Once learned, adult song in many species …

Songbirds, long of interest to basic neuroscience, have great potential as a model system for
translational neuroscience. Songbirds learn their complex vocal behavior in a manner that …

Neurosteroids are powerful modulators of brain function and behavior, yet their dynamics in
the brain have remained elusive. Using in vivo microdialysis in male zebra finches, we found …

▪ Abstract Bird song provides an unusually impressive illustration of vertebrate behavioral
diversification. Research on bird song evolution traditionally focuses on factors that enhance …

Learning by imitation is essential for transmitting many aspects of human culture, including
speech, language, art, and music. How the human brain enables imitation remains a …