This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
A major issue in understanding how evolution has shaped social communication is determining how the brains and behavior of communication signal sender and receiver are matched so that signals such as vocalizations convey meaningful social information. Songbirds are used to address this issue because they have innate predispositions for producing and hearing the complex vocalizations (songs) of their own species. Yet, they must learn to produce their own songs during development and to recognize the songs of other birds. The aim of this project is to determine how the interplay of nature and nurture builds the brain mechanisms that mediate vocal communication by testing the relationship between species-specific vocal acoustics and neural auditory tuning, and the role of developmental experience in song production and auditory processing. Three related species that produce very different songs will be raised in the laboratory. Some will be cross-fostered so that birds of one species experience and learn the songs of another species. Using the integrated analysis of behavior, neurophysiology and anatomy, the contributions of genetic identity and experience to the matching of sender and receiver in vocal acoustics and auditory processing in the brain will be determined. Clear contributions of both genetic identity and developmental experience are expected to be demonstrated by hybrid songs and differences in auditory processing between birds raised by their own species and cross-fostered birds. This work will provide a demonstration of how perceptual mechanisms that guide learning and social behavior are created in the brain. Understanding how sensory function differs across species and how those differences are related to species-specific social behavior will describe general mechanisms whereby the brain evolves to support speciation and functional matching between sensory and motor systems. These studies are designed specifically to maximize the participation of undergraduate students in research, and the project includes outreach to the local middle school system.
