While social learning is widespread, indiscriminate copying of others is rarely beneficial.
Theory suggests that individuals should be selective in what, when, and whom they copy, by …

This year is the 50th anniversary of Tinbergen's (1963) article 'On aims and methods of
ethology', where he first outlined the four 'major problems of biology'. The classification of the …

Many animals, including humans, acquire valuable skills and knowledge by copying others.
Scientists refer to this as social learning. It is one of the most exciting and rapidly developing …

Rare mutations of the FOXP2 transcription factor gene cause a monogenic syndrome
characterized by impaired speech development and linguistic deficits. Recent genomic …

Highlights•Mice do not show evidence of imitative vocal learning.•The lack of vocal learning
makes the mouse an excellent model system for understanding the genetic basis of human …

What is it about religion that appeals to people? Why do religions and religious beliefs
persist in the face of increasing secularisation, harsh criticism and even political …

Anthropogenic noise is a major pollutant for organisms that live in urban areas. City birds
modify their songs in ways that can increase their communication potential in spite of noise …

Research on avian cognitive neuroscience over the past two decades has revealed the
avian brain to be a better model for understanding human cognition than previously thought …

This paper considers state-dependent dynamics that mediate perception in the brain. In
particular, it considers the formal basis of self-organized instabilities that enable perceptual …

Retinoid acid, the bioactive metabolite of vitamin A, is a potent signaling molecule in the
brains of growing and adult animals, regulates numerous gene products, and modulates …