| |
 |
|
|
Science Forum Index » Anthropology - Paleo Forum » Bird song
Page 1 of 1
|
| Author |
Message |
| arne97 |
 Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 1:34 pm |
|
|
|
Guest
|
As in humans, vocalization in infancy in birds initiates the
structuring of the brain to enable it to more efficiently process
information ( aka- thinking). This reliance on vocalization is needed
for male courtship of the females, the " Primum movens" ( first
cause ) on the road to language.
This process is absent in placental mammals where estrus propels the
female into mating with the most proximate male, without the male
needing to court.
Humans, almost alone among mammals in lacking estrus, "rediscovered"
courtship vocalization and eventually, language.
"A Specialized Forebrain Circuit for Vocal Babbling in the Juvenile
Songbird
Dmitriy Aronov, Aaron S. Andalman, Michale S. Fee*
Young animals engage in variable exploratory behaviors essential for
the development of neural circuitry and adult motor control, yet the
neural basis of these behaviors is largely unknown. Juvenile songbirds
produce subsong—a succession of primitive vocalizations akin to human
babbling. We found that subsong production in zebra finches does not
require HVC (high vocal center), a key premotor area for singing in
adult birds, but does require LMAN (lateral magnocellular nucleus of
the nidopallium), a forebrain nucleus involved in learning but not in
adult singing. During babbling, neurons in LMAN exhibited premotor
correlations to vocal output on a fast time scale. Thus, juvenile
singing is driven by a circuit distinct from that which produces the
adult behavior—a separation possibly general to other developing motor
systems.
McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and
Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
MA 02139, USA. "
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/320/5876/630 |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| |
|
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT - 5 Hours
The time now is Thu Aug 07, 2008 6:12 pm
|
|