Bird songs may advertise aspects of cognition because song learning and learning speed in cognitive tasks are both affected by early-life environments.However,such relationships remain ambiguous in the literature.Here...Bird songs may advertise aspects of cognition because song learning and learning speed in cognitive tasks are both affected by early-life environments.However,such relationships remain ambiguous in the literature.Here,I discuss 2 lines of research that may help to demystify links between song learning and cognition.First,learning strategies should be considered when assessing performance to ensure that individual differences in learning ability are not masked by individual differences in learning strategies.Second,song characteristics should be associated with social behavior because songs have a social purpose and,consequently,should be strongly related at functional and neural levels.Finally,if song learning and cognitive abilities are correlated because they develop concurrently and/or share or compete for the same resources,I discuss ways glucocorticoids may link early-life stress,song learning and cognitive ability,focusing particularly on oxidative stress as a potential mechanism.展开更多
基金a BBSRC Research Grant(ref BB/L002264/1).The author declares no conflict of interest.
文摘Bird songs may advertise aspects of cognition because song learning and learning speed in cognitive tasks are both affected by early-life environments.However,such relationships remain ambiguous in the literature.Here,I discuss 2 lines of research that may help to demystify links between song learning and cognition.First,learning strategies should be considered when assessing performance to ensure that individual differences in learning ability are not masked by individual differences in learning strategies.Second,song characteristics should be associated with social behavior because songs have a social purpose and,consequently,should be strongly related at functional and neural levels.Finally,if song learning and cognitive abilities are correlated because they develop concurrently and/or share or compete for the same resources,I discuss ways glucocorticoids may link early-life stress,song learning and cognitive ability,focusing particularly on oxidative stress as a potential mechanism.
