Abstract
Vocal learning is the ability to modify vocal output on the basis of experience. Traditionally, species have been classified as either displaying or lacking this ability. A recent proposal, the vocal learning continuum, recognizes the need to have a more nuanced view of this phenotype and abandon the yes-no dichotomy. However, it also limits vocal learning to production of novel calls through imitation, moreover subserved by a forebrain-to-phonatory-muscles circuit. We discuss its limitations regarding the characterization of vocal learning across species and argue for a more permissive view.
Publication types
-
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
-
Animals
-
Behavior, Animal / physiology
-
Biological Evolution
-
Brain / physiology
-
Humans
-
Learning / physiology*
-
Neural Pathways / physiology
-
Vocalization, Animal / physiology*
Grants and funding
PTM acknowledges support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT -
www.fct.pt) in the form of a PhD fellowship (grant SFRH/BD/131640/2017). CB acknowledges the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (
www.mineco.gob.es; grant FFI2016-78034-C2-1-P), a Marie Cure International Reintegration Grant from the European Union (
https://cordis.europa.eu; grant PIRG-GA-2009-256413), research funds from the Fundació Bosch I Gimpera (
www.fbg.ub.edu), the MEXT/JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas 4903 (
https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-grants/) (Evolinguistics: JP17H06379), and from the Generalitat de Catalunya (
https://web.gencat.cat/; 2017-SGR-341). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.