Birdsong: models and mechanisms.
Recent studies have provided important information concerning the neural signals that subserve vocal learning in songbirds: advanced signal processing techniques are beginning to clarify the behavioral trajectories followed by developing birds; single-unit physiology in behaving animals is providing important clues about sensory and motor representations during learning; in vitro whole-cell recordings are revealing patterns of synaptic communication; and experimental alterations in song behavior have advanced our understanding of specific structure-function relationships. The construction of theoretical and computational models will be crucial in integrating such disparate experimental results.
Troyer
T W
TW
Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. ttroyer@glue.umd.edu
Bottjer
S W
SW
D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D007858:Learning; D008959:Models, Neurological; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology*