VIDEO OF PRESENTATION

The structure of communication signals can change depending on the social and physical environment. Social influences on signaling and signal structure have been proposed to reflect cognitive processes underlying communicative behaviors. I will review studies from my lab, describing how social audiences affect the performance of song in songbirds and discussing the extent to which these studies provide insight into the social brain.  

James, L. S., Dai, J. B., & Sakata, J. T. (2018). Ability to modulate birdsong across social contexts develops without imitative social learning. Biology Letters, 14(3), 20170777.

Chen, Y., Matheson, L. E., & Sakata, J. T. (2016). Mechanisms underlying the social enhancement of vocal learning in songbirds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(24), 6641-6646.

James, L. S., & Sakata, J. T. (2017). Learning Biases Underlie “Universals” in Avian Vocal Sequencing. Current Biology, 27(23), 3676-3682.