Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Auditory-vocal mirroring in songbirds.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Mooney, R
Published in: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
2014

Mirror neurons are theorized to serve as a neural substrate for spoken language in humans, but the existence and functions of auditory-vocal mirror neurons in the human brain remain largely matters of speculation. Songbirds resemble humans in their capacity for vocal learning and depend on their learned songs to facilitate courtship and individual recognition. Recent neurophysiological studies have detected putative auditory-vocal mirror neurons in a sensorimotor region of the songbird's brain that plays an important role in expressive and receptive aspects of vocal communication. This review discusses the auditory and motor-related properties of these cells, considers their potential role on song learning and communication in relation to classical studies of birdsong, and points to the circuit and developmental mechanisms that may give rise to auditory-vocal mirroring in the songbird's brain.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci

DOI

EISSN

1471-2970

Publication Date

2014

Volume

369

Issue

1644

Start / End Page

20130179

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Vocalization, Animal
  • Songbirds
  • Sensorimotor Cortex
  • Models, Neurological
  • Mirror Neurons
  • Learning
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Auditory Perception
  • Animals
  • 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Mooney, R. (2014). Auditory-vocal mirroring in songbirds. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 369(1644), 20130179. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0179
Mooney, Richard. “Auditory-vocal mirroring in songbirds.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 369, no. 1644 (2014): 20130179. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0179.
Mooney R. Auditory-vocal mirroring in songbirds. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2014;369(1644):20130179.
Mooney, Richard. “Auditory-vocal mirroring in songbirds.Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, vol. 369, no. 1644, 2014, p. 20130179. Pubmed, doi:10.1098/rstb.2013.0179.
Mooney R. Auditory-vocal mirroring in songbirds. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2014;369(1644):20130179.
Journal cover image

Published In

Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci

DOI

EISSN

1471-2970

Publication Date

2014

Volume

369

Issue

1644

Start / End Page

20130179

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Vocalization, Animal
  • Songbirds
  • Sensorimotor Cortex
  • Models, Neurological
  • Mirror Neurons
  • Learning
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Auditory Perception
  • Animals
  • 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences