Birdsong: From Behavior to Neuron

The study of birdsong has made significant contributions to the development of modern ethology. Concepts such as species-specificity in animal signals, innate predisposition in learning, and sensory templates for motor development were put forth first in birdsong research (Marler 1957, 1 964, Konishi 1965b, Hinde 1982). Also, it was the study of song development that elevated the much debated issue of instinct versus learning from the realm of semantic discourse and confusion to an experimentally tractable subject (Marler 1983). The recent discovery of neural substrates for song has introduced a new dimension to the study of birdsong, making integration of behavioral and neurobiological studies feasible (Nottebohm et aI1976). Neurobiological concepts and methods are now directly applicable to this field. This integrated approach can address not only some of the outstanding issues that arose in behavioral studies and that are refractory to further behavioral analysis, but it also makes birdsong an attractive subject for the study of such basic issues as neural coding, learning, memory, developmental plasticity, and sensorimotor coordination. In this review I shall examine critically the major current issues and ideas in this field, placing special emphasis on the topics related to the development, learning, and neural control of song. Because extensive listings and reviews of recent literature on birdsongs are available (Kroodsma & Miller 1982a,b), the references cited are limited to those essential for the discussion of facts and theories on selected topics.