The auditory CNS is influenced profoundly by sounds heard during development. Auditory
deprivation and augmented sound exposure can each perturb the maturation of neural …

Neural circuits and behavior are shaped during developmental phases of maximal plasticity
known as sensitive or critical periods. Neural correlates of sensory critical periods have …

Motor skills can be maintained for decades, but the biological basis of this memory
persistence remains largely unknown. The zebra finch, for example, sings a highly …

Executing a motor skill requires the brain to control which muscles to activate at what times.
How these aspects of control—motor implementation and timing—are acquired, and …

The acquisition of complex motor sequences often proceeds through trial-and-error learning,
requiring the deliberate exploration of motor actions and the concomitant evaluation of the …

Time-locked sequences of neural activity can be found throughout the vertebrate forebrain in
various species and behavioral contexts. From “time cells” in the hippocampus of rodents to …

Precise neural sequences are associated with the production of well-learned skilled
behaviors. Yet, how neural sequences arise in the brain remains unclear. In songbirds …

Peripheral nerves carry sensory (afferent) and motor (efferent) signals between the central
nervous system and other parts of the body. The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is …

Songbirds are the preeminent animal model for understanding how the brain encodes and
produces learned vocalizations. Here, we report a new statistical method, the Kullback …

Sleep abnormalities are coexpressed with human communication disorders. Recent data
from the birdsong system, the best model for human speech, indicate that sleep has a critical …