New research published by the Neuronal Mechanism for Critical Period Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) has shown the effectiveness of chemogenetic ...

A central topic in behavioral biology is the question, which aspects of a behavior are learned or expressed due to genetic predisposition. Today it is known that our personality and behavior are far ...

In addition to their song, songbirds also have an extensive repertoire of calls. While the species-specific song must be learned as a young bird, most calls are, as in the case of all other birds, ...

When a thirsty and lonely male zebra finch changes his mind from getting a drink of water to prioritizing courtship, his dopamine-releasing brain cells reflect his new intensions A pair of Zebra ...

Brain scientists are beginning to disentangle the molecular mechanisms underlying the intrinsic motivation to learn. DURHAM, N.C. -- In his lab at Duke University, neuroscientist Richard Mooney shows ...

Using the word “know” loosely, that’s a simplified version of a new analysis of zebra finches by neuroscientists at the University of California, San Francisco. Sarah Woolley explains that males sing ...

Young zebra finches have had memories implanted in their brains that change the length of the notes they sing. The process involved manipulating a region of the brain that birds use to learn their ...

The babbling of zebra finches creates connections in the brain that enable them to memorize the song of their tutor. The picture shows a zebra finch chick (2nd from left) between a female (left) and a ...

The ability to learn new motor skills is critical to almost all aspects of our lives. From the time a baby is born, it learns to move its arms and hands, to pronounce words and to walk. Such skills ...

When most of us hear birds chirping, we may assume it’s just simple background noise. However, a new study from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that at least one small songbird is ...