Neural Circuits Underlying Vocal Learning in Songbirds

Abstract

Songbirds have become the most prominent animal model to reveal the neural mechanisms underlying vocal learning. Similar to other forms of sensorimotor learning, vocal learning in songbirds entails acquiring a sensory representation of communicative sounds (songs) and learning the motor commands to produce the memorized sounds. The process of song learning in songbirds is highly similar to the process of speech acquisition in humans; as such, there are extensive efforts to discover and characterize the neural circuitry for song learning in songbirds to gain insight into potential mechanisms underlying speech acquisition in humans. This chapter provides a conceptual review of the neural circuits regulating the sensory and sensorimotor learning of birdsong as well as the mechanisms underlying variation in the extent and fidelity of vocal learning (e.g., timing of song learning, social interactions, and biological predispositions). Findings from various songbird species are integrated to provide a comparative perspective on neural mechanisms. In addition, outstanding questions and new research directions for birdsong research are considered.