Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Centre for Research in Brain, Language, and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 10;10(1):2248. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-58983-8.
Birdsong is a learned communicative behavior that consists of discrete acoustic elements ("syllables") that are sequenced in a controlled manner. While the learning of the acoustic structure of syllables has been extensively studied, relatively little is known about sequence learning in songbirds. Statistical learning could contribute to the acquisition of vocal sequences, and we investigated the nature and extent of sequence learning at various levels of song organization in the Bengalese finch, Lonchura striata var. domestica. We found that, under semi-natural conditions, pupils (sons) significantly reproduced the sequence statistics of their tutor's (father's) songs at multiple levels of organization (e.g., syllable repertoire, prevalence, and transitions). For example, the probability of syllable transitions at "branch points" (relatively complex sequences that are followed by multiple types of transitions) were significantly correlated between the songs of tutors and pupils. We confirmed the contribution of learning to sequence similarities between fathers and sons by experimentally tutoring juvenile Bengalese finches with the songs of unrelated tutors. We also discovered that the extent and fidelity of sequence similarities between tutors and pupils were significantly predicted by the prevalence of sequences in the tutor's song and that distinct types of sequence modifications (e.g., syllable additions or deletions) followed distinct patterns. Taken together, these data provide compelling support for the role of statistical learning in vocal production learning and identify factors that could modulate the extent of vocal sequence learning.
鸟鸣是一种经过学习的交际行为，由离散的声学元素（“音节”）组成，并以可控的方式进行排序。虽然音节声学结构的学习已经得到了广泛的研究，但鸟类歌曲中的序列学习相对较少。统计学习可能有助于获得发声序列，我们在孟加拉雀（Lonchura striata var. domestica）的各种歌曲组织水平上研究了序列学习的性质和程度。我们发现，在半自然条件下，学生（儿子）在多个组织水平（例如音节曲目、流行程度和过渡）上显著复制了导师（父亲）歌曲的序列统计信息。例如，在“分支点”（相对复杂的序列，后面跟着多种类型的过渡）处的音节过渡概率在导师和学生的歌曲之间具有显著相关性。我们通过用不相关导师的歌曲对未成年孟加拉雀进行实验性教学，证实了学习对父子歌曲序列相似性的贡献。我们还发现，导师和学生歌曲之间序列相似性的程度和保真度与导师歌曲中序列的流行程度显著相关，并且不同类型的序列修改（例如音节添加或删除）遵循不同的模式。综上所述，这些数据为统计学习在发声产生学习中的作用提供了有力的支持，并确定了可能调节发声序列学习程度的因素。
