The recognition of spoken language has typically been studied by focusing on either words
or their constituent elements (for example, low-level features or phonemes). More recently …

The past decade of progress in neurobiology has uncovered important organizational
principles for network preconfiguration and neuronal selection that suggest a generative …

Human vocal development occurs through two parallel interactive processes that transform
infant cries into more mature vocalizations, such as cooing sounds and babbling. First …

Human language, as well as birdsong, relies on the ability to arrange vocal elements in new
sequences. However, little is known about the ontogenetic origin of this capacity. Here we …

Songbirds, long of interest to basic neuroscience, have great potential as a model system for
translational neuroscience. Songbirds learn their complex vocal behavior in a manner that …

Neural sequences are a fundamental feature of brain dynamics underlying diverse
behaviours, but the mechanisms by which they develop during learning remain unknown …

The zebra finch brain features a set of clearly defined and hierarchically arranged motor
nuclei that are selectively responsible for producing singing behavior. One of these regions …

As animals vocalize, their vocal organ transforms motor commands into vocalizations for
social communication. In birds, the physical mechanisms by which vocalizations are …

Motor skills can be maintained for decades, but the biological basis of this memory
persistence remains largely unknown. The zebra finch, for example, sings a highly …

Vocalization is an ancient vertebrate trait essential to many forms of communication, ranging
from courtship calls to free verse. Vocalizations may be entirely innate and evoked by sexual …