Birdsong Learning is Very Similar to The Way That Children Learn How to Speak

Sleep- learning by birds…..? Does it sound like Science fiction? Read on what scientists at Utrecht University have discovered.

 The researchers, M. H. Gobes, M. A. Zandbergen, and J. J. Bolhuis at Utrecht have found that that when zebra finches learn their songs from their father early in life, their brain remains active during sleep. The research has also established that birdsong learning is very similar to the way that our children learn how to speak.

This discovery will increase our understanding of the role of sleep in the formation of memory.

In children different brain regions are involved in learning speaking or singing. The new research has established that in zebra finches also this happens. This makes songbirds a good animal model to study the role of sleep in human speech acquisition.

Details of the study appear in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.