Meeting Abstract
Social communication is a strong selective pressure on brain evolution; the exchange of information between individuals is crucial for fitness-related behavior such as mating. At the species level, brains of signal senders and receivers are likely to be functionally coordinated. We study vocal behavior and auditory processing in multiple species of estrildid finches whose species-specific songs differ dramatically in their spectral and temporal features. Our goal is to understand how species identity and experience interact to shape behavior and the neural systems that subserve communication. Male finches learn to produce acoustically complex songs that are both species-specific and unique to an individual. Song learning occurs during a developmental critical period and depends on auditory processing. Both sexes rely on central auditory processing to recognize species-specific and individual songs. I will present our studies of song acoustics, auditory perception, song learning and the neural coding of sound that provide insight into: 1) relationships between species-specific communication signals and the neural coding of those signals in sensory systems; and 2) effects of social learning on the development of communication behavior and cortical processing of communication singals.
