Song retuning with tutor model by adult zebra finches.

Full Abstract

Songbirds first memorize a tutor song in youth and develop their own song after the remembered model. As birds sexually mature, their song becomes crystallized and refractory to further tutoring. Here, we show that the song syllables of adult zebra finches gradually drift from their once crystallized forms, when individual birds are kept in auditory isolation or in company of cage mates singing different song syllables. Furthermore, when birds with drifted syllables are tutored with the same model again, they amend the fine structure of their syllables towards the model. In contrast, retutoring does not affect syllable sequences that differ from those of the original tutor.

Author information

Author/s: Funabiki, Yasuko (Y); Funabiki, Kazuo (K);

Affiliation: Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA. funaysk(-atsign-)kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp

Grants: NH55984 (Agency:PHS HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Developmental neurobiology (Dev Neurobiol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Apr; vol 68 (issue 5) : pp 645-55

Dates: Created 2008/03/20; Completed 2008/06/17;

PMID: 18278800, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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