Humans are among the most social of animals. This is evident especially in our complex system of learned vocal communication, and in our formation of close personal relationships maintained by language. As such social interactions are critical in maintaining mental and physical health, it is important to understand the brain mechanisms that control social behavior. As an animal model, the social behavior of songbirds has notable similarities to that of humans. Many species, like humans, form close lifelong affiliations with other individuals. Further, the learning of communicative vocalizations by young animals is especially sensitive to a precise social setting.
Work in our lab focuses on these two aspects of singing behavior. We study song learning as an example of a complex behavior that must be learned within a limited time period, and aim to characterize the neural networks and plasticity mechanisms that allow such learning. We also study the way in which social information strongly influences brain activity and behavior during song communication by adults. |
