Translating birdsong: songbirds as a model for basic and applied medical research

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 exemplifies general processes of perceptual and motor skill learning and, more specifically, resembles human speech...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of neuroscience 2013-07, Vol.36 (1), p.489-517
Main Authors: Brainard, Michael S, Doupe, Allison J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animal cognition
Animals
Auditory pathways
Birds
Brain
Communication Disorders - pathology
Communication Disorders - physiopathology
Communication Disorders - therapy
Feedback, Physiological - physiology
Humans
Learning - physiology
Medical research
Models, Animal
Motor ability
Neurosciences
Songbirds
Translational Medical Research
Vocalization, Animal - physiology
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Summary: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 exemplifies general processes of perceptual and motor skill learning and, more specifically, resembles human speech learning. Song is subserved by circuitry that is specialized for vocal learning and production but that has strong similarities to mammalian brain pathways. The combination of highly quantifiable behavior and discrete neural substrates facilitates understanding links between brain and behavior, both in normal states and in disease. Here we highlight (a) behavioral and mechanistic parallels between birdsong and aspects of speech and social communication, including insights into mirror neurons, the function of auditory feedback, and genes underlying social communication disorders, and (b) contributions of songbirds to understanding cortical-basal ganglia circuit function and dysfunction, including the possibility of harnessing adult neurogenesis for brain repair.
ISSN:0147-006X
1545-4126
DOI:10.1146/annurev-neuro-060909-152826