ABSTRACT
Summary ...................................................................................................... 270 14.7 Experience-Regulated Proteins in NCM ...................................................... 272 14.8 Calcium-Driven Plasticity: Activation of the Extracellular-Signal
Regulated Kinase Pathway ........................................................................... 279 14.9 Concluding Remarks .................................................................................... 282 References .............................................................................................................. 282
processing of complex acoustic stimuli, including those that involve communication signals, such as vocalizations in animals and speech in humans (3,4). Songbirds have emerged as a powerful model to study the brain processing of complex, behaviorally relevant auditory communication signals, due to their complex communication relative to many other animal groups. For instance, songbirds are capable of vocal learning-the ability to modify their vocalizations based on auditory inputa rare behavior that is necessary for the acquisition of spoken language in humans, and found only in few animal groups (humans, cetaceans, elephants, some species of bats, parrots, and hummingbirds, in addition to songbirds) (5-8). It is thought that all other animal groups, including non-human primates, do not exhibit vocal learning behavior and, therefore, only display innate species-specific vocalizations (6). Songbirds also rely in the perceptual processing of songs for other important behaviors including those that involve individual identification, territorial defense, and mate selection (9-14).
