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Leitão A, Gahr M. Babbling opens the sensory phase for imitative vocal learning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2312323121. [PMID: 38621117 PMCID: PMC11067029 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312323121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Zebra finches, a species of songbirds, learn to sing by creating an auditory template through the memorization of model songs (sensory learning phase) and subsequently translating these perceptual memories into motor skills (sensorimotor learning phase). It has been traditionally believed that babbling in juvenile birds initiates the sensorimotor phase while the sensory phase of song learning precedes the onset of babbling. However, our findings challenge this notion by demonstrating that testosterone-induced premature babbling actually triggers the onset of the sensory learning phase instead. We reveal that juvenile birds must engage in babbling and self-listening to acquire the tutor song as the template. Notably, the sensory learning of the template in songbirds requires motor vocal activity, reflecting the observation that prelinguistic babbling in humans plays a crucial role in auditory learning for language acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albertine Leitão
- Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, 82319Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Manfred Gahr
- Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, 82319Seewiesen, Germany
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Ter Haar SM, Fernandez AA, Gratier M, Knörnschild M, Levelt C, Moore RK, Vellema M, Wang X, Oller DK. Cross-species parallels in babbling: animals and algorithms. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200239. [PMID: 34482727 PMCID: PMC8419573 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A key feature of vocal ontogeny in a variety of taxa with extensive vocal repertoires is a developmental pattern in which vocal exploration is followed by a period of category formation that results in a mature species-specific repertoire. Vocal development preceding the adult repertoire is often called ‘babbling’, a term used to describe aspects of vocal development in species of vocal-learning birds, some marine mammals, some New World monkeys, some bats and humans. The paper summarizes the results of research on babbling in examples from five taxa and proposes a unifying definition facilitating their comparison. There are notable similarities across these species in the developmental pattern of vocalizations, suggesting that vocal production learning might require babbling. However, the current state of the literature is insufficient to confirm this suggestion. We suggest directions for future research to elucidate this issue, emphasizing the importance of (i) expanding the descriptive data and seeking species with complex mature repertoires where babbling may not occur or may occur only to a minimal extent; (ii) (quasi-)experimental research to tease apart possible mechanisms of acquisition and/or self-organizing development; and (iii) computational modelling as a methodology to test hypotheses about the origins and functions of babbling. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sita M Ter Haar
- Cognitive Neurobiology and Helmholtz Institute, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, PO Box 80086, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Ahana A Fernandez
- Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Maya Gratier
- Laboratoire Ethologie, Cognition, Développement, Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre, France
| | - Mirjam Knörnschild
- Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany.,Animal Behavior Lab, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Claartje Levelt
- Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Roger K Moore
- Department Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Michiel Vellema
- Cognitive Neurobiology and Helmholtz Institute, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, PO Box 80086, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Xiaoqin Wang
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - D Kimbrough Oller
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.,Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA.,Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria
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Peter B, Vose C, Bruce L, Ingram D. Starting to Talk at Age 10 Years: Lessons About the Acquisition of English Speech Sounds in a Rare Case of Severe Congenital But Remediated Motor Disease of Genetic Origin. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2019; 28:1029-1038. [PMID: 31298943 DOI: 10.1044/2019_ajslp-18-0156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Purpose This study was conducted to observe speech development in a child whose onset of oral communication was extremely delayed. In rare cases, children are born with physical limitations that temporarily interfere with speech sound production. Whether the development of speech sound production follows the same trajectory as that in typical children at younger ages is not well understood. Method We present a child who was wheelchair-bound and communicated nearly exclusively via augmentative and alternative communication devices due to severe congenital motor disease and generalized hypotonia. At age 10 years, her condition improved dramatically with medication after a mutation in a dopamine-related gene was discovered, and she switched entirely to oral communication. Observation of speech development was based on chart reviews, video recordings, and direct testing at age 15 years. Results At age 4 years, the participant's attempts at speech showed a small phoneme inventory consisting of early-acquired phonemes and large numbers of common phonological processes. Following the medical intervention at age 10 years, mastery of velars occurred after age 12 years and mastery of liquids was still incomplete at age 15 years. Conclusions Findings are consistent with general growth trends in speech sound acquisition that are independent of chronological age. Theoretical considerations regarding the role of motor control in the invariant order of speech sound acquisition are posited, specifically regarding articulatory building blocks. Clinical recommendations include interprofessional management of children with complex motor disease and referrals to genetics professionals in the care of such children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beate Peter
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Saint Louis University, MO
| | - Caitlin Vose
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Syracuse University, NY
| | - Laurel Bruce
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe
| | - David Ingram
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe
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