Pauses enhance chunk recognition in song element strings by zebra finches.

Animal Cognition
Michelle SpieringsCarel ten Cate

Abstract

When learning a language, it is crucial to know which syllables of a continuous sound string belong together as words. Human infants achieve this by attending to pauses between words or to the co-occurrence of syllables. It is not only humans that can segment a continuous string. Songbirds learning their song tend to copy 'chunks' from one or more tutors' songs and combine these into their own song. In the tutor songs, these chunks are often separated by pauses and a high co-occurrence of elements, suggesting that these features affect chunking and song learning. We examined experimentally whether the presence of pauses and element co-occurrence affect the ability of adult zebra finches to discriminate strings of song elements. Using a go/no-go design, two groups of birds were trained to discriminate between two strings. In one group (Pause-group), pauses were inserted between co-occurring element triplets in the strings, and in the other group (No-pause group), both strings were continuous. After making a correct discrimination, an individual proceeded to a reversal training using string segments. Segments were element triplets consistent in co-occurrence, triplets that were partly consistent in composition and triplets consis...Continue Reading

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Citations

Aug 25, 2015·Animal Cognition·Jiani ChenCarel ten Cate
Sep 18, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Damian ScarfMichael Colombo
Jul 26, 2017·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Ellen C GarlandMichael J Noad
Sep 5, 2019·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·Piera FilippiDaniel L Bowling
Sep 9, 2019·Topics in Cognitive Science·Antony S TrotterMorten H Christiansen
Jul 24, 2018·Topics in Cognitive Science·Jutta L MuellerJuan M Toro
Jul 31, 2019·Topics in Cognitive Science·Christopher I Petkov, Carel Ten Cate
Nov 17, 2020·Frontiers in Psychology·Stephen B FountainClaire C Jackman

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