Motor Correlates of Vocal Learning

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9411191 Suthers Vocal behaviors represent complex outputs of the nervous system with great behavioral and social significance. These behaviors, whether in primates or birds, demonstrate (a) a strong dependence on learning, and (b) complexities of neural control such as lateralization -- unequal control by the two sides of the nervous system. In the past, investigation of these phenomena in animal systems has relied very heavily on surgical disruption of the pathways controlling vocalization. In this proposal, a research team headed by Dr. R. Suthers will study the development of avian vocal behavior using new techniques that allow many fine details of vocal control to be analyzed without surgical disruption. These studies will enable Dr. Suther's team to uncover the normal controls on the development of coordination between the two sides of the song production organ, the syrinx. They will also allow new understanding of how the patterns of coordination are acquired by juveniles, and how complex aspects of tonality are produced. These studies will enhance our knowledge of the biology of communication systems, and are directly relevant to speech communication and linguistics. ***