Progress in understanding cognition requires a quantitative, theoretical framework,
grounded in the other natural sciences and able to bridge between implementational …

As in humans, song production in birds involves the intricate coordination of at least three
major groups of muscles: namely, those of the syrinx, the respiratory apparatus, and the …

Humans and songbirds are two of the rare animal groups that modify their innate
vocalizations. The identification of FOXP2 as the monogenetic locus of a human speech …

The stereotyped delivery of sequences of vocalizations by singing zebra finches is thought
to be mediated by a “central motor program.” We hypothesized that electrically stimulating …

The descending, efferent projections of nucleus robustus archistriatalis were investigated in
male zebra finches and greenfinches with injections of either biotinylated dextran amine or …

Mammalian vocalizations are critical for communication and are produced through the
process of phonation, in which expiratory muscles force air through the tensed vocal folds of …

Courtship displays often involve the concerted production of several distinct courtship
behaviors. The neural circuits that enable the concerted production of the component …

Ascending auditory efferents in birds terminate mainly within Field L2, a cytoarchitectonically
distinct region of the caudomedial telencephalon. The organization of Field L2, and that of its …

Two core questions in the study of speech evolution are whether nonhuman primate signals
should be conceived as referential, and what the role of social cognition is in primate …

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 …