Complex vocal interaction

声音信号的协调交换(“声音交互”)是人类和其他动物交流的一种关键形式。我的研究项目的长期目标是了解构成复杂声音互动的行为。对动物模型的研究揭示了控制声音相互作用的认知规则。我之前的工作阐明了鸟类声乐二重唱的结构规则。我现在学习的是“反唱”，这是一种更复杂的鸟类声音互动形式，在这种互动中，邻近领地的主人会用声音进行互动。在阿德莱德的林莺模型系统中，我提出了一个关于声音相互作用的综合研究方案。这项工作是对我正在进行的一项平行研究的补充，这项研究是关于决策过程的，这些决策过程塑造了跨越多个物种和背景的声音互动规则。 短期目标 1.数据采集和处理技术的进步使得能够采集更大的数据集，这就需要新的分析工具。我将开发免费可用的软件工具，将连续事件作为过渡网络进行分析。 2.描述是理解复杂系统的重要第一步。我将录制对唱的鸟类，并使用过渡网络来描述它们的互动，以前所未有的细节和整体论水平。 3.要从描述转向预测、机制和功能，我们必须对支配个人行为的认知规则进行表征。我将使用转换网络和其他方法来为管理语音交互的规则建模。 4.鸟鸣的主要功能是吸引配偶和保卫领地。对唱的功能阐释一直以来都集中在地域功能上。我将测试一个新的基于网络的框架，在这个框架中，反唱男性通过利用女性的认知偏见来影响女性的选择。 总结和影响 正如鸟鸣已成为言语发展和控制的模式一样，鸟类之间的声音互动也可作为互动交流的模式。这项建议中描述的工作为研究对话的认知、神经内分泌和遗传基础以及其他形式的互动交流奠定了基础。潜在的长期应用包括通信、人工智能和医学方面的进步(例如，自闭症和其他影响语音互动的疾病的诊断和治疗)。将开发和免费提供的研究工具将促进对各种顺序数据和相互作用的研究。另一种信号策略框架提供了一座概念上的桥梁，在驱动信号系统走向“诚实”的适应性过程和限制人类和其他动物理性选择的邻近约束之间。本研究将培养三名研究生和几名本科生。

The coordinated exchange of vocal signals (‘vocal interaction’) is a key form of communication in humans and other animals. The long-term objective of my research program is to understand the behaviours that structure complex vocal interactions. Research on animal models reveals insights into the cognitive rules that govern vocal interaction. My previous work elucidated the rules that structure vocal duets in birds. I now study ‘countersinging’, a more complex form of avian vocal interaction in which neighbouring territory holders interact vocally. I propose a comprehensive program of research on vocal interaction in the Adelaide’s warbler model system. This work compliments a parallel line of research I am conducting on the decision processes that shape vocal interaction rules across multiple species and contexts. Short term objectives 1. Advances in data acquisition and processing technologies permit the acquisition of ever-larger datasets, necessitating new analytic tools. I will develop freely available software tools to analyze sequential events as transition networks. 2. Description is an essential first step in understanding complex systems. I will record countersinging birds and use transition networks to describe their interactions at unprecedented levels of detail and holism. 3. To move from description to prediction, mechanism, and function, we must characterize the cognitive rules that govern individuals’ behaviour. I will use transition networks and other approaches to model the rules that govern vocal interaction. 4. The primary functions of bird song are mate attraction and territory defense. Functional interpretations of countersinging have consistently focused on the territorial function. I will test a new network-based framework in which countersinging males influence female choice by exploiting females’ cognitive biases. Summary and impact Just as bird song has served as a model for the development and control of speech, so vocal interaction in birds can serve as a model for interactive communication. The work described in this proposal sets the foundation for research on the cognitive, neuro-endocrine, and genetic underpinnings of conversation and other forms of interactive communication. Potential long-term applications include advances in communication, artificial intelligence, and medicine (e.g., diagnosis and treatment of autism and other disorders that affect vocal interaction). The research tools that will be developed and made freely available will promote research on sequential data and interactions of all kinds. The alternative signaling tactics framework offers a conceptual bridge between the adaptive processes that drive signaling systems toward ‘honesty’ and the proximate constraints that limit rational choice in humans and other animals. This research will train three graduate students and several undergraduates.