Songbird BioCognition: An integrative approach to understanding songbird communication

我的研究项目的主要目的是了解鸣禽的声音交流。我用鸣禽作为模型系统有很多原因，包括鸣禽以类似于人类语言学习的方式从模型中学习发声，以及鸣禽和人类一样，声音交流对它们的生存至关重要。总的问题是：“鸣禽是如何用它们的歌声和叫声进行交流的？”我的方法包括使用许多不同的研究技术来回答这个问题，但从不同的角度来攻击它。例如，我们描述和描述了鸣禽发出的声音，包括它们的歌声，用于吸引配偶，以及它们的叫声，用于各种目的，包括在发现捕食者时发出警报。一旦我们感兴趣的发声方式得到了足够详细的描述，我们就可以确定这种发声方式与其他类似发声方式的区别。为了做到这一点，我们使用统计技术来指出每种发声中重要的特征，或者我们在野外或实验室对鸟类进行实验，以了解鸟类在感知特定发声时自己认为重要的是什么。我们还试图了解当鸟类听到它们的声音时，哪些大脑区域被使用。为了完成这方面的工作，我们让鸟类接触各种不同的声音，然后用复杂的解剖学技术评估它们大脑中的活动模式，这些技术能够告诉我们哪些细胞是活跃的，这些细胞位于大脑的哪个位置，以及它们对哪些信号最敏感。最后，我们通过在不同条件下（例如，与其他物种一起）饲养鸣禽来检验早期经验对声音感知的作用，并将它们的感知与从野外捕获的鸟类的感知进行比较。综上所述，我们希望对鸣禽是如何交流的有一个广泛的了解，这样做，希望能阐明我们自己的，人类的交流系统的共同机制。

The main objective of my research program is to understand songbird vocal communication. I use songbirds as a model system for many reasons, including the fact that they learn their vocalizations from a model in a manner analogous to human speech learning and because of the fact that vocal communication in songbirds, as in humans, is critical to their survival. The overall question is: "How do songbirds communicate using their songs and calls?" My approach involves the use of many different research techniques focused on answering this one question, but by attacking it at different points. For instance, we describe and characterize the vocalizations that songbirds produce including their songs, used to attract mates, and their calls, used for a variety of purposes, including raising alarm when a predator is detected. Once the vocalization that we are interested in has been described in adequate detail, we then determine what it is about the vocalization that sets it apart from other, similar vocalizations. To do this, we use statistical techniques designed to point us to the features that are important in each vocalization, or we conduct experiments with birds in the field or in the lab, to understand what birds themselves deem important when they perceive a particular vocalization. We also try to understand which brain areas are used when birds listen to their vocalizations. To do this aspect of our work, we expose birds to various vocalizations and then assess the patterns of activity in their brains using sophisticated anatomical techniques that are able to tell us what cells are active, where in the brain these cells are located, and for which signals they are most responsive. Finally, we examine the role of early experience on vocal perception by raising songbirds in different conditions (e.g., with another species) and test their perception against that of birds captured from the wild. Taken together, we hope to gain a broad understanding of how it is that songbirds communicate, and in so doing, hope to shed light on common mechanisms in our own, human, communication system.