Comparative studies on brain asymmetry date back to the 19th century but then largely
disappeared due to the assumption that lateralization is uniquely human. Since the …

Transcription is a molecular requisite for long-term synaptic plasticity and long-term memory
formation. Thus, in the last several years, one main interest of molecular neuroscience has …

We believe that names have a powerful influence on the experiments we do and the way in
which we think. For this reason, and in the light of new evidence about the function and …

The standard nomenclature that has been used for many telencephalic and related
brainstem structures in birds is based on flawed assumptions of homology to mammals. In …

A male zebra finch learns a song by listening to a tutor, but song learning is normally
restricted to a critical period in juvenile development. Here we identify an RNA whose …

The voices of birds have always been a source of fascination. Nature's Music brings together
some of the world's experts on birdsong, to review the advances that have taken place in our …

Bird fanciers have known for centuries that songbirds learn their songs. This learning has
striking parallels to speech acquisition: like humans, birds must hear the sounds of adults …

Vocal learning, the substrate for human language, is a rare trait found to date in only three
distantly related groups of mammals (humans, bats, and cetaceans) and three distantly …

Auditory information is critical for vocal imitation and other elements of social life in
songbirds. In zebra finches, neural centers that are necessary for the acquisition and …

Long-term plastic changes in the brain, including those supporting memory formation, are
assumed to depend on permanent functional alterations in neuronal cells that require …