Social Stimulation of Vocal Learning

关于鸟类如何学会唱歌的重大发现， 与人类学习说话的方式有着惊人的相似之处。 就像人类学会说一种语言一样 在它们周围，许多种类的鸟学会了唱这首歌， 由邻居演唱。 就像人类的语言是从 婴儿牙牙学语，鸟鸣发展从简单的发声， 幼鸟 韦斯特和金博士发现， 雄性燕八哥的鸣叫是由视觉信号引导的 从雌性燕八哥，就像其他人的信号引导 人类儿童语言的发展。 这一关于声乐作品的社会塑造的重要发现 是当前研究项目的基础，该项目将探索 女性感知和男性发声之间的联系 发展鸟类的交流能力。 物种 被选来研究的棕头燕八哥， 因为它可以在圈养中繁殖， 有机会研究个人的发展， 沟通历史 这项研究应导致界定新的非- 模仿声乐学习，阐明如何奖励 机制以自然发生的文化形式发挥作用 传播，以及视觉系统如何 在行为和神经层面影响声音 发展

Major discoveries about how birds learn to sing have brought to light remarkable parallels with how human beings learn to speak. Just as human beings learn to speak the language that is spoken around them, many species of birds learn to sing the song that is sung by their neighbors. Just as human speech develops from infant babbling, bird song develops from simpler vocalizations of young birds. Drs. West and King have discovered that this development of song by male cowbirds is guided by visual signals from female cowbirds, just as signals from other people guide the development of speech by the human child. This important discovery of social shaping of vocal repertoires is the basis for the current research project, which will explore linkages between female perception and male vocal production in the development of avian communicative capacities. The species chosen for study, the brown-headed cowbird, is especially appropriate because it can be bred in captivity, affording the opportunity to study the development of individuals with known communicative histories. This research should lead to the delineation of new forms of non- imitative vocal learning, the elucidation of how reward mechanisms function in a naturally-occurring form of cultural transmission, and the investigation of how the visual system operates at behavioral and neural levels to affect vocal development.