Goal-directed vocal planning in a songbird
Songbirds’ vocal mastery is impressive, but to what extent is it a result of practice? Can they, based on experienced mismatch with a known target, plan the necessary changes to recover the target in a practice-free manner without intermittently singing? In adult zebra finches, we drive the pitch of...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2024-07-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/90445 |
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| _version_ | 1832575935200624640 |
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| author | Anja T Zai Anna E Stepien Nicolas Giret Richard HR Hahnloser |
| author_facet | Anja T Zai Anna E Stepien Nicolas Giret Richard HR Hahnloser |
| author_sort | Anja T Zai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Songbirds’ vocal mastery is impressive, but to what extent is it a result of practice? Can they, based on experienced mismatch with a known target, plan the necessary changes to recover the target in a practice-free manner without intermittently singing? In adult zebra finches, we drive the pitch of a song syllable away from its stable (baseline) variant acquired from a tutor, then we withdraw reinforcement and subsequently deprive them of singing experience by muting or deafening. In this deprived state, birds do not recover their baseline song. However, they revert their songs toward the target by about 1 standard deviation of their recent practice, provided the sensory feedback during the latter signaled a pitch mismatch with the target. Thus, targeted vocal plasticity does not require immediate sensory experience, showing that zebra finches are capable of goal-directed vocal planning. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-be5052071d18461c8b3fcf99803b948d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-07-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-be5052071d18461c8b3fcf99803b948d2025-01-31T16:11:00ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2024-07-011210.7554/eLife.90445Goal-directed vocal planning in a songbirdAnja T Zai0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0460-0850Anna E Stepien1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6398-6255Nicolas Giret2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7139-6231Richard HR Hahnloser3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4039-7773Neuroscience Center Zurich (ZNZ), University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandNeuroscience Center Zurich (ZNZ), University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandInstitut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, UMR 9197 CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, FranceNeuroscience Center Zurich (ZNZ), University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandSongbirds’ vocal mastery is impressive, but to what extent is it a result of practice? Can they, based on experienced mismatch with a known target, plan the necessary changes to recover the target in a practice-free manner without intermittently singing? In adult zebra finches, we drive the pitch of a song syllable away from its stable (baseline) variant acquired from a tutor, then we withdraw reinforcement and subsequently deprive them of singing experience by muting or deafening. In this deprived state, birds do not recover their baseline song. However, they revert their songs toward the target by about 1 standard deviation of their recent practice, provided the sensory feedback during the latter signaled a pitch mismatch with the target. Thus, targeted vocal plasticity does not require immediate sensory experience, showing that zebra finches are capable of goal-directed vocal planning.https://elifesciences.org/articles/90445zebra finchvocal learningauditory feedbackbirdsongreinforcement learning |
| spellingShingle | Anja T Zai Anna E Stepien Nicolas Giret Richard HR Hahnloser Goal-directed vocal planning in a songbird eLife zebra finch vocal learning auditory feedback birdsong reinforcement learning |
| title | Goal-directed vocal planning in a songbird |
| title_full | Goal-directed vocal planning in a songbird |
| title_fullStr | Goal-directed vocal planning in a songbird |
| title_full_unstemmed | Goal-directed vocal planning in a songbird |
| title_short | Goal-directed vocal planning in a songbird |
| title_sort | goal directed vocal planning in a songbird |
| topic | zebra finch vocal learning auditory feedback birdsong reinforcement learning |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/90445 |
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