Research team finds zebra finches learn to vocalize in ways similar to humans
Tuesday, July 17, 2012 - 06:20
in Psychology & Sociology
(Phys.org) -- In the quest to better understand how people learn to communicate, researchers have focused on different parts of the brain. In so doing, theyve discovered two parts in particular that are involved in language processing and speech vocalization: Wernickes and Brocas area respectively. Now new research shows that a type of songbird, the zebra finch, has analogous regions in its brain. The first called the NCM appears to be involved in processing the songs of its father when young, while the HVC is involved in song vocalization in finches of all ages.