title: Neural correlates of experience-induced deficits in learned vocal communication.
abstract: Songbirds are one of the few vertebrate groups (including humans) that evolved the ability to learn vocalizations. During song learning, social interactions with adult models are crucial and young songbirds raised without direct contacts with adults typically produce abnormal songs showing phonological and syntactical deficits. This raises the question of what functional representation of their vocalizations such deprived animals develop. Here we show that young starlings that we raised without any direct contact with adults not only failed to differentiate starlings' typical song classes in their vocalizations but also failed to develop differential neural responses to these songs. These deficits appear to be linked to a failure to acquire songs' functions and may provide a model for abnormal development of communicative skills, including speech.
authors.affiliation: UMR6552-Ethologie Animale et Humaine, Université Rennes1-CNRS, Rennes, France. Isabelle.George@univ-rennes1.fr
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alcaix
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Richard
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cousillas
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hausberger
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000818:Animals; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003142:Communication; D004594:Electrophysiology; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D020308:Songbirds / Q000502:physiology; D046749:Starlings / Q000502:physiology; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology