BIOL 4471 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Bird Vocalization, Striatum, Endocrine System
Document Summary
Chapter 2 proximate vs ultimate causes of behavior. Is singing and dialect obtainment environmentally learned or a genetic / heritable trait: environmental birds sing same songs as those they hear in audio recordings, therefore they learn how to sing in specific, learned dialects. If it were genetic, the birds could sing full songs in specific dialects even if they were raised in isolation. Behavior shaped by inheritance and environment: acquisition of bird song. Hormones and behavior hear own song for crystallization: behavior depends on nervous system for initiation, coordination, and execution, hormones of endocrine system control development, learning, and expression of behavior. In birds, hormones: determine bird"s ability to sing, cause brain regions responsible for song to develop: increase in number of neurons, growth of individual neurons and branches. In spring, rise in estrogen level causes song regions of male"s bird brain to develop and increase in size. Ultimate causes for differences in bird songs.
