SOCIAL AND ACOUSTIC DETERMINANTS OF VOCAL LEARNING

拟议研究的目的是确定模仿和 声乐学习中的非发声社交。主题是 鸣禽，它们使用复杂的声音信号系统，并在 少数几种表现出发声学习的动物。鸟类发声的研究 发展对我们理解社会主义现代化建设的重大贡献 学习的知觉、内分泌学和神经解剖学基础 高等脊椎动物。歌曲学习的经典描述，它提供了 所有这项研究的基础，强调声学模拟 模型是鸟类学习歌唱的主要手段。更多 最近，社会互动已被证明对 学习过程。这两个研究机构尚未整合。 一份关于声音发展的最新描述，描绘了 社会影响和声学影响的各自贡献。这个 建立这样一个账户是拟议的总体目标 研究。提出了三个实验。实验1旨在确定 在缺席的情况下，社交活动对声音发展有什么贡献 来自同种生物的声音输入。年幼的八哥，斯图尔加里斯， 会与失声的同伴和他们的歌声相比 在以前的实验中饲养的鸟类产生的歌声 与世隔绝，或者和一个疯狂唱歌的成年人在一起。实验2旨在 确定社会环境的特定方面，有助于 声乐学习。幼鸟与其幼鸟的行为相互作用 将观察教师，并将采用多元技术来 测试行为测量是否能预测年轻人的特征 鸟类的鸣叫--也就是它们在多大程度上发展成物种--是典型的 曲目和语法。实验3旨在开发一种评估方法 不同条件下习得歌曲的功能有效性 社会和声音刺激。这将在两年内完成 方式：(A)在不同条件下饲养的八哥的歌声 社会和声音刺激将对雌激素起作用 女性。如果雌性表现出交配前的表现，就像以前一样 在其他物种中引发的对回放的反应，数量和 显示的强度可以用作歌曲的指示 在吸引配偶方面的有效性。(B)将训练八哥鸟 区分同种和异种歌曲，使用 手术过程。然后，他们将收到录制的歌曲 在不同的实验条件下饲养的鸟。受试者的 对一首歌曲进行分类将给出它在 为物种识别提供了依据。

The aim of the proposed research is to define the roles of imitation and non-vocal social interaction in vocal learning. The subjects are songbirds, which employ a system of complex vocal signals and are among the few animals that exhibit vocal learning. Studies of avian vocal development have made major contributions to our understanding of the perceptual, endocrinological, and neuroanatomical bases of learning in higher vertebrates. The classic account of song learning, which provides the foundation for all this research, emphasizes the imitation of acoustic models as the primary means by which birds learn their songs. More recently, social interaction has been shown to exert major effects on the learning process. These two bodies of research have yet to be integrated into an updated account of vocal development that delineates the respective contributions of social and acoustic influences. The construction of such an account is the broad objective of the proposed research. Three experiments are proposed. Experiment 1 aims to determine what social interaction can contribute to vocal development in the absence of vocal input from a conspecific. Young starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, will be raised with devocalized companions and their songs compared with songs developed by birds reared in previous experiments either in isolation or with a wild-caught singing adult. Experiment 2 aims to identify specific aspects of the social environment that contribute to vocal learning. The behavioral interactions of young birds and their tutors will be observed, and multivariate techniques will be employed to test whether the behavioral measures can predict features of the young birds' songs--i.e., the extent to which they develop species-typical repertoires and syntax. Experiment 3 aims to develop a means of assessing the functional effectiveness of songs acquired under differing conditions of social and acoustic stimulation. This will be accomplished in two ways: (a) Songs recorded from starlings reared under differing conditions of social and acoustic stimulation will be played to estrogen-primed females. If the females exhibit precopulatory displays, as have been elicited in other species in response to playbacks, the number and intensity of the displays can be used as an indication of a song's effectiveness in mate attraction. (b) Starlings will be trained to discriminate between conspecific and heterospecific songs, using an operant procedure. They will then be presented with songs recorded from birds reared under varying experimental conditions. The subjects' categorization of a song will give an indication of its effectiveness in providing a basis for species recognition.