|
|
Article: Sing It to Me
- Article from:
- Natural History
- Article date:
- April 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright American Museum of Natural History Apr 2006. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
Young male zebra finches learn to sing by listening to adult tutors-often their fathers-and by rehearsing endlessly. To get a tune just right, a young bird must compare the sounds it makes with its memories of the songs its tutor sang. The memories-or "sound templates" for bird-song-must be stored somewhere in the bird's brain, but where? Until now, investigators have primarily searched parts of the brain responsible for singing and song learning. Now, Mimi L. Phan and David S. Vicario, both neuroscientists at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and a colleague have found evidence of a template elsewhere: in a part of the brain generally known as the NCM, ...