Dynamics of the Vocal Imitation Process in Songbirds

Partha Mitra
Bell Laboratories

Song imitation in birds has long been a fruitful model system for studying vocal learning. A model system that has been studied in depth in this regard is the zebra finch. Recent advances in experimental and analytical techniques have allowed us to obtain new insights into the dynamics of the song learning process. In particular, the learning process does not seem to correspond to a simple minimisation of acoustic error from an auditory template: rather, there appear to be predictable patterns to the learning process independent of the particular song being learned. This talk will review both some of the past work that is relevant and the new body of evidence.