BIO320H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Vocal Folds, Motor System, Motor Learning
Document Summary
The mechanism that underlie it are enigmatic, rely on sensory feedback and behaviour modification: this is because brains are big messy things. Imitation relies on processor feed-back; ourselves knowing what ourselves are doing and really compare that to the models we seen. That there is not just the matter of quick imitation but a refined process to match the models. Learning by imitation rare in non- human animals. Vocal learning is an example of learning through imitation and its rare it makes us special. Song birds, parrots, humming birds all of them are vocal leaners. The structures that they use to produces songs and learn to better produces songs are similar but different. If you show vocal plasticity you can do those things like sing higher in nosier environments. Flexibility in vocalization, you can change the message, you can optimize your signals to different habitats. Easier to study because they have that richness to their songs.
