2 cool bird papers in NN

Songbirds possess the spontaneous ability to discriminate syntactic rules

Abe & Watanabe
ABSTRACT Whether the computational systems in language perception involve specific abilities in humans is debated. The vocalizations of songbirds share many features with human speech, but whether songbirds possess a similar computational ability to process auditory information as humans is unknown. We analyzed their spontaneous discrimination of auditory stimuli and found that the Bengalese finch (Lonchura striata var. domestica) can use the syntactical information processing of syllables to discriminate songs). These finches were also able to acquire artificial grammatical rules from synthesized syllable strings and to discriminate novel auditory information according to them. We found that a specific brain region was involved in such discrimination and that this ability was acquired postnatally through the encounter with various conspecific songs. Our results indicate that passerine songbirds spontaneously acquire the ability to process hierarchical structures, an ability that was previously supposed to be specific to humans.


Owl's behavior and neural representation predicted by Bayesian inference

Fischer & Pena
ABSTRACT The owl captures prey using sound localization. In the classical model, the owl infers sound direction from the position of greatest activity in a brain map of auditory space. However, this model fails to describe the actual behavior. Although owls accurately localize sources near the center of gaze, they systematically underestimate peripheral source directions. We found that this behavior is predicted by statistical inference, formulated as a Bayesian model that emphasizes central directions. We propose that there is a bias in the neural coding of auditory space, which, at the expense of inducing errors in the periphery, achieves high behavioral accuracy at the ethologically relevant range. We found that the owl's map of auditory space decoded by a population vector is consistent with the behavioral model. Thus, a probabilistic model describes both how the map of auditory space supports behavior and why this representation is optimal.

SFN registration open

you an register for SFN now and book hotels. if you want the conference discount, i'd suggest doing this soon because they fill up fast.

SFN neurOnline

SFN started its own social network that allows you to connect to fellow neuroscience aficionados for discussions, recent findings, etc. more info can be found on the website here

UC budget news blues ... 2

this was kind of inevitable, but it is official as of today UC regents approve 2nd tuition hike

the first increase will be an immediate 9.6% with an additional 5.9% later in the year if state revenue does not increase.

Evolution is quite amazing

A new paper in science shows how weevils evolved a nut-and-screw joint.

the original paper is here

a Science News article talks about it here

SFN gets funding to educate public about animal research

The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) has been awarded $180,000 in funding to launch the Engaging the Public about Animal Research (EPAR) project, which aims to expand public awareness about the vital role of animal research in scientific and medical progress. The funding, provided over three years by the Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund, Inc., will go toward creating online educational resources geared toward key audiences and the general public.

full announcement here

Caution on Correlations

a review in NN by Marlene Cohen and Adam Kohn discusses some of the issues with correlating neural responses across electrodes and neurons. article here

there is also an interesting paper from Michael Platt's lab in the same issue on decision-making in ICC. check it out here