Integrating Perception and Communication: The Function of Acoustic Fine Structure in Natural Zebra Finch Communication

鸟类和人类的听力范围重叠，但这并不意味着它们感知复杂声音的方式是相同的。事实上，鸟类的听觉时间处理能力远远超过人类。对人类的研究表明，这种时间处理能力使人在嘈杂环境中更容易理解语音，并有助于识别熟悉的说话者。到目前为止，还没有研究测试鸟类增强的时间处理能力的功能。这项建议将考验鸟类超常的时间处理能力。如果鸟类正在使用实验室研究表明它们能够听到的这些精细的声学细节，那将是令人震惊的。到目前为止，这样的声学细节在很大程度上超出了传统生物学方法能够捕捉到的范围。因此，这一提议可能会从根本上影响未来对鸟鸣的描述。反过来，研究具有如此特殊时间处理能力的鸟类物种，可能会对与人一生中听力的个体差异相关的研究产生更广泛的影响。最后，在鸟儿身边听鸟鸣是很多人喜欢的事情。因此，这项提议还包括开发一项无障碍多媒体外展计划。由于沟通能力的不同，残疾人往往被排除在积极参与外展计划之外。此外，还有一个强大的机会，可以利用动物交流的多样性，帮助创造包容的空间，思考和涉及人类交流的多样性。要了解社会行为和交流的机制，关键是要全面了解一个物种的感知空间。这一建议将社会行为方面的专业知识与心理物理方法的精确度结合在一起。鸟类在发声时辨别细微声音细节的能力大约是人类的十倍。到目前为止，这种区分声学精细结构(AFS)的特殊能力已经在所有研究的七种鸟类中得到确认。这项提议旨在发现这种感知能力在鸟类中的潜在功能。为了在鸟类的自然生态中恰当地定位AFS的感知，这项提议追求三条截然不同的调查路线。(1)为了确定对听觉刺激的知觉是否影响发声学习，将使用复杂程度和听觉刺激类型不同的自然刺激和人工刺激进行歌曲学习实验。(2)为了测试噪声对个体感知自然声音信号能力的影响，将使用经典的心理物理实验。(3)为了确定AFS在塑造社会交流中的作用，将使用人工和自然刺激来确定AFS在求爱和配对过程中是否重要。将这三个视角结合起来，将阐明鸟类感知能力在自然交际语境中的作用。此外，这些研究将为未来旨在更全面地整合基本认知和自然行为学的研究奠定基础。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Birds and humans have an overlapping hearing range, but this does not mean they are perceiving complex sounds the same way. In fact, birds have an auditory temporal processing ability that far exceeds humans. From research on humans, it has been shown that such temporal processing abilities make it easier to understand speech in noisy environments and facilitate the identification of familiar talkers. Thus far, there has been no research testing the function of bird’s enhanced temporal processing ability. This proposal will test the function of birds exceptional temporal processing ability. It would be striking if birds are using these fine acoustic details which lab studies have shown they are capable of hearing. Such acoustic details have so far been largely beyond the scope of what traditional biological approaches have been able to capture. Thus, this proposal may fundamentally impact how birdsong is described going forward. Reciprocally, studying bird species with such exceptional temporal processing abilities may have broader impact on research related to individual differences in hearing of people over their lifetime. Finally, both being around and listening to birds is something many people enjoy. Therefore, this proposal also includes developing an accessible multimedia outreach program. Too often disabled people are excluded from active participation in outreach programs due to different communication abilities. Furthermore, there is a powerful opportunity to leverage diversity in animal communication to help create inclusive spaces for thinking about and relating to diversity in human communication. To understand mechanisms of social behavior and communication, it is critical to have a comprehensive understanding of the perceptual space, or ‘umwelt,’ of a species. This proposal combines expertise in social behavior with the precision of a psychophysical approach. A bird’s ability to discriminate fine acoustic details in vocalizations is about ten times better than a human’s ability. So far, this exceptional ability to discriminate acoustic fine structure (AFS) has been identified in all seven avian species studied. This proposal aims to discover potential functions of this perceptual ability in birds. To properly situate the perception of AFS in the natural ecology of birds, this proposal pursues three distinct lines of inquiry. (1) To determine whether perception of AFS shapes vocal learning, song learning experiments will be conducted using natural and artificial stimuli that vary in their complexity and type of AFS. (2) To test the effect of noise on an individual’s ability to perceive natural vocal signals, classic psychophysical experiments will be used. (3) To identify the role of AFS in shaping social communication, artificial and natural stimuli will be used to determine if AFS is important during courtship and pair bonding. Combined these three perspectives will clarify the function of bird’s perceptual ability in natural communicative contexts. Furthermore, these studies will provide a foundation for future research aiming to integrate basic perception and natural ethology more fully across taxa.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.