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Advances in Understanding the Auditory Brain of Songbirds

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Book cover Insights from Comparative Hearing Research

Part of the book series: Springer Handbook of Auditory Research ((SHAR,volume 49))

Abstract

Songbirds, like humans, have the ability to memorize and learn auditory input in order to shape their own vocalization. Such abilities imply that the songbird brain, not unlike the human brain, is built to process and discriminate complex sounds.

In this chapter, the strategy that songbirds use to learn their songs is reviewed, highlighting its dependence on auditory feedback for successful song learning. The elements of birdsong are explained, followed by a short description of analytical tools commonly used by songbird neurophysiologists to analyze auditory-driven neural spiking responses. These tools are used to discuss the patterns of auditory processing that occur in the songbird’s brain, beginning with the auditory midbrain and thalamic structures that are common to all birds and moving up to the primary and secondary auditory areas in the songbird cerebrum involved in the discrimination of behaviorally relevant complex sounds in birdsong.

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  1. Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland

    Janie M. Ondracek & Richard H. R. Hahnloser

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  1. Janie M. Ondracek
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  2. Richard H. R. Hahnloser
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Correspondence to Richard H. R. Hahnloser .

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  1. School of Medicine and Health Science, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany

    Christine Köppl

  2. School of Medicine and Health Science, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany

    Geoffrey A. Manley

  3. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Arthur N. Popper

  4. Falmouth, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard R. Fay

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Ondracek, J.M., Hahnloser, R.H.R. (2013). Advances in Understanding the Auditory Brain of Songbirds. In: Köppl, C., Manley, G., Popper, A., Fay, R. (eds) Insights from Comparative Hearing Research. Springer Handbook of Auditory Research, vol 49. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/2506_2013_31

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