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The study of song learning and production in oscine birds has generated an
unusually large number of insights into the neural control of natural behaviors.
Thousands of songbird species are found throughout the world and show a
remarkable amount of variation in behavioral and life history strategies.
Song behaviors are discrete, complex, learned, and in many species are modulated
both diurnally and seasonally. Song is used in a wide range of social contexts
which differ from species to species. Because the songs are easily recorded,
reproduced, and manipulated, experiments have been able to explore many of the
behaviorally-relevant parameters of these communication signals.
The brains of oscine birds have large, specialized regions that are not apparent in
non-songbirds. These areas are known to control singing, and have been studied
anatomically, physiologically, biochemically and genetically. These areas have
exciting properties that have led to new avenues of research throughtout
neuroscience. In some species these regions are under hormonal control, as their
size varies dramatically in response to hormonal titers. Recent interest in adult
neurogenesis was sparked by the finding that new neurons are born in adult
songbird brains and are known to be incorporated into the song control circuits.
Also, the activity of neurons in many of these regions are known to be highly
tuned to the sensory and motor structure of their songs, and this activity is
"replayed" during sleep.
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