Instructed learning in the auditory localization pathway of the barn owl
Abstract
A bird sings and you turn to look at it a process so automatic it seems simple. But is it? Our ability to localize the source of a sound relies on complex neural computations that translate auditory localization cues into representations of space. In barn owls, the visual system is important in teaching the auditory system how to translate cues. This example of instructed plasticity is highly quantifiable and demonstrates mechanisms and principles of learning that may be used widely throughout the central nervous system.
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Plasticity during sensitive periods differs in important ways from plasticity before and after such periods, and may often require sustained efforts to be maintained.
“However, plasticity during sensitive periods differs in important ways from plasticity before and after such periods (cf. Hensch, 2004; Knudsen, 2002), and it may often require sustained efforts to be maintained.”
From Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development: Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? (2008) · cites this paper as Knudsen, 2002
Cites
Sensitive periods for visual calibration of the auditory space map in the barn owl optic tectum
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Knudsen, E. I. (2004) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/0898929042304796 · Cited by 1,842 · see citing works
Self-citationHertzog, C., Kramer, A. F., Wilson, R. S., & Lindenberger, U. (2008) · Psychological Science in the Public Interest · doi:10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01034.x · Cited by 1,495 · see citing works
Economic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building America's future workforce
Knudsen, E. I., Heckman, J. J., Cameron, J. L., & Shonkoff, J. P. (2006) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0600888103 · Cited by 1,123 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Development of Embodied Cognition: Six Lessons from Babies
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- Authors
- Knudsen, E. I.
- Affiliations
- Stanford Medicine (US)
- Corresponding author
- Knudsen, Eric I.
- ORCID
- Knudsen, Eric I.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2002-05
- Volume
- 417
- Issue
- 6886
- Pages
- 322-328
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2002679708
- Cited by
- 320
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 4.50
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- McKnight Foundation
- National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology › Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Keywords
- sound localization, barn owl, audiovisual integration, neural learning, spatial representation, auditory pathway, cross-modal learning
- MeSH terms
- Aging, Animals, Auditory Perception, Brain, Cues, Learning, Neuronal Plasticity, Orientation, Space Perception, Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate, Receptors, GABA, Strigiformes
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