/newsroom/taxonomy/term/9446/all en /newsroom/channels/news/power-face-time-insights-zebra-finch-courtship-358512 <p>A new study on songbirds sheds light on the power of social interaction to facilitate learning, insights that potentially apply to human development.</p> <p>UUÖ±²¥ researchers discovered that zebra finches deprived of early social experiences could still form strong bonds with a partner later in life. Once placed into cohabitation with a male, females that had never heard a mating song before could quickly develop a preference for his melody.</p> Tue, 20 Aug 2024 16:44:26 +0000 keila.depape@mcgill.ca 314586 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/dopamine-plays-key-role-songbird-mating-335032 <p>In humans, the dopamine system has been tied to rewards and pleasurable sensations. As well as to memory and learning. A recent study from UUÖ±²¥, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01107-6?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982221011076%3Fshowall%3Dtrue"><i>Current Biology</i></a>, suggests that dopamine may also play a key role in shaping what songs female songbirds enjoy, which may ultimately affect mating as females choose (and then remember) their mates based on the songs they prefer.</p> Fri, 19 Nov 2021 19:32:16 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 283644 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/new-algorithm-reveals-birdsong-features-may-be-key-courtship-330572 <p>Researchers from UUÖ±²¥ and the University of California, San Francisco have developed a new algorithm capable of identifying features of male zebra finch songs that may underlie the distinction between a short phrase sung during courtship, and the same phrase sung in a non-courtship context.</p> Thu, 22 Apr 2021 13:44:10 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 260932 at /newsroom /newsroom/sarah-woolley Mon, 03 May 2021 14:38:59 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 263007 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/lost-translation-untrained-zebra-finch-ear-jazzy-courtship-songs-fall-flat-268897 <p>Zebra finches brought up without their fathers don’t react to the singing of potential suitors in the same way that female birds usually do, hinting that the environment in which the birds are raised can have a determining effect on their behaviour.</p> <p>The finding, published in the <em>Proceedings of the Royal Society B</em> by UUÖ±²¥ researchers, highlights how learning and experience, including developmental auditory experience, can shape how the brain perceives vocal signals.</p> Mon, 10 Jul 2017 20:06:30 +0000 justin.dupuis@mcgill.ca 32057 at /newsroom