Why Do Researchers Study How Zebra Finches Learn to Sing?

The old title of this note says birds learn to "sign." On Decrypted, Sarah McBride and Brad Stone are talking about singing. Tim Otchy, a neuroscientist at Boston University, studies zebra-finch brains for general rules of how brains work. Only the males sing. Baby birds imitate a father's song, badly at first and better a month later. The songbird is one of the systems where the brain regions are best mapped, so researchers can ask precise questions about brain activity and behavior, including how a human learns. Otchy's lab uses a benign virus so neurons glow, then implants tiny microscopes. McBride says tech companies care because the labs produce huge data sets, and because the questions sit inside artificial intelligence.