Research report 2020 - Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (Seewiesen site)
Neural control of vocal interactions in zebra finches
Authors
Vallentin, Daniela
Departments
Forschungsgruppe "Neuronale Grundlagen vokaler Kommunikation"
Summary
During a good conversation we typically rarely interrupt each other. Although we often already know what we want to say, we suppress our own pronunciation until the other person has finished speaking. How does the brain control this behavior? To better understand the mechanisms involved, we took a closer look at the calling behavior of zebra finches and the neural processes taking place. Like humans, zebra finches coordinate their vocalizations depending on the social situation. This interaction is based on a temporally ordered interplay between inhibiting and excitatory neurons.