title: Observing real-time social interaction via telecommunication methods in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus).
abstract: Humans communicate with one another not only face-to-face but also via modern telecommunication methods such as television and video conferencing. We readily detect the difference between people actively communicating with us and people merely acting via a broadcasting system. We developed an animal model of this novel communication method seen in humans to determine whether animals also make this distinction. We built a system for two animals to interact via audio-visual equipment in real-time, to compare behavioral differences between two conditions, an "interactive two-way condition" and a "non-interactive (one-way) condition." We measured birds' responses to stimuli which appeared in these two conditions. We used budgerigars, which are small, gregarious birds, and found that the frequency of vocal interaction with other individuals did not differ between the two conditions. However, body synchrony between the two birds was observed more often in the interactive condition, suggesting budgerigars recognized the difference between these interactive and non-interactive conditions on some level.
authors.affiliation: Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Wako, Japan; Faculty of Letters, Aichi University, Toyohashi, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ikkatai
authors.affiliation: Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Wako, Japan; Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okanoya
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Letters, Aichi University, Toyohashi, Japan; Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: yoshimasa.seki@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yoshimasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Seki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male; D046408:Melopsittacus; D012919:Social Behavior; D013685:Telecommunications; D014828:Vocalization, Animal
keywords: Budgerigar; Melopsittacus undulatus; Synchrony; Telecommunication; Vocal production