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Precise auditory–vocal mirroring in neurons for learned vocal communication
Abstract
Brain mechanisms for communication must establish a correspondence between sensory and motor codes used to represent the signal. One idea is that this correspondence is established at the level of single neurons that are active when the individual performs a particular gesture or observes a similar gesture performed by another individual. Although neurons that display a precise auditory-vocal correspondence could facilitate vocal communication, they have yet to be identified. Here we report that a certain class of neurons in the swamp sparrow forebrain displays a precise auditory-vocal correspondence. We show that these neurons respond in a temporally precise fashion to auditory presentation of certain note sequences in this songbird's repertoire and to similar note sequences in other birds' songs. These neurons display nearly identical patterns of activity when the bird sings the same sequence, and disrupting auditory feedback does not alter this singing-related activity, indicating it is motor in nature. Furthermore, these neurons innervate striatal structures important for song learning, raising the possibility that singing-related activity in these cells is compared to auditory feedback to guide vocal learning.
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“The comparable latencies that were found for singing and passive listening imply that there is a delay function performed by a CD.”
From Corollary discharge across the animal kingdom (2008) · cites this paper as [74]
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“Evidence for this CD function was recently found in neurons in the high vocal centre (HVC) that fired with the same latency irrespective of whether the bird was actively singing or passively listening74.”
From Corollary discharge across the animal kingdom (2008) · cites this paper as [74]
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“I physiological single-unit recordings in birds have unambiguously established the analog of the forward pathway, that it likely generates a detailed spectrotemporal representation of the stimulus which mimics that received from the ear during vocalizations (Prather et al. 2008), and that this in turn would allow the…”
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Visual control of an action discrimination in pigeons
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International Year of Planet Earth
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Cortical Motor Organization, Mirror Neurons, and Embodied Language: An Evolutionary Perspective
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“…order sensory elaboration, it is also possible that in monkeys the acoustic input reaching frontal areas is not coupled yet with the motor representation of vocalizations, at difference with what occurs in other species, such as humans and songbirds (Pulvermüller et al. 2006; Prather et al. 2008).”
BackgroundAsogwa, N. C., Mori, C., Sánchez‐Valpuesta, M., Hayase, S., & Wada, K. (2018) · The Journal of Comparative Neurology · doi:10.1002/cne.24532 · Cited by 15
“The species differences in state-dependent auditory gating of HVC(x) neurons neither appears to be phylogenetically dependent nor based on song complexity (Hessler & Okanoya, 2018; Prather, 2013; Prather et al., 2008).”
BackgroundIsola, G., Vochin, A., & Sakata, J. T. (2020) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.00142.2019 · Cited by 12
Morphology of Axonal Projections From the High Vocal Center to Vocal Motor Cortex in Songbirds
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Expertise-dependent motor somatotopy of music perception
Furukawa, Y., Uehara, K., & Furuya, S. (2017) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2017.04.033 · Cited by 15
Vocal recognition of distance calls in a group-living basal bird: the greylag goose, Anser anser
Guggenberger, M., Adreani, N. M., Foerster, K., & Kleindorfer, S. (2022) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.004 · Cited by 15
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“1A) are not driven by auditory stimuli in awake swamp sparrows (23, 25) or zebra finches (26, 27).”
BackgroundAn avian cortical circuit for chunking tutor song syllables into simple vocal-motor units
Mackevicius, E. L., Happ, M., & Fee, M. S. (2020) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18732-x · Cited by 20
Where Apes and Songbirds are Left Behind: A Comparative Assessment of the Requisites for Speech
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“Nonetheless, auditory responses during wakefulness in basal ganglia -projecting HVC neurons (Prather et al., 2008, 2009) show a remarkable temporal concordance with motor activity in the same neurons.”
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Imitation learning based on an intrinsic motivation mechanism for efficient coding
Triesch, J. (2013) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00800 · Cited by 15
“While originally discovered in monkeys, there is converging evidence for a mirror neuron sys-tem in humans (Iacoboni et al., 1999) and song birds (Prather et al., 2008).”
BackgroundPhasic basal ganglia activity associated with high-gamma oscillation during sleep in a songbird
Yanagihara, S., & Hessler, N. A. (2011) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.00790.2011 · Cited by 14
“2002; Yu and Margoliash 1996) and to Area X (Kozhevnikov and Fee 2007; Prather et al. 2008), as the first stage of the AFP.”
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Holey, B. E., & Schneider, D. M. (2024) · Cell Reports · doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114396 · Cited by 13
“41 Normal song learning requires intact auditory feedback as well as auditory input to singing-related structures of the songbird brain.”
BackgroundZheng, Y., Zhang, J., Yang, Y., & Xu, M. (2025) · Communications Biology · doi:10.1038/s42003-025-07466-5 · Cited by 16
“Moreover, studies on songbirds 17,18 and non-human primates 19 indicate a role for vocal production systems in voice/speechperception.”
Bennett, M. S. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.685853 · Cited by 13
Representation of the bird's own song in the canary HVC: contribution of broadly tuned neurons
Lehongre, K., & Negro, C. D. (2010) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2010.11.015 · Cited by 13
Audition and Hemispheric Specialization in Songbirds and New Evidence from Australian Magpies
Kaplan, G. (2017) · Symmetry · doi:10.3390/sym9070099 · Cited by 9
“Since the discovery of mirror neurons in birds by Prather and colleagues [47], we also know that birds can learn song without being actively supervised and instructed by an adult.”
BackgroundBoch, M., Karl, S., Wagner, I. C., Lengersdorff, L., Huber, L., & Lamm, C. (2024) · Imaging Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/imag_a_00385 · Cited by 14
“So far, research in non-primate species has focused on investigations of mirror neurons in the motor and anterior cingulate cortex of rats ( Carrillo et al., 2019; Viaro et al., 2021) and in the forebrain of various songbirds ( Fujimoto et al., 2011; Hamaguchi et al., 2014; Prather et al., 2008).”
Prather, J. F., Peters, S. S., MOONEY, R. D., & Nowicki, S. (2012) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.03.012 · Cited by 11
“2a) (Fee & Leonardo 2001; Prather et al. 2008, 2009).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationEchoes on the motor network: how internal motor control structures afford sensory experience
Burgess, J. D., Lum, J. A. G., Hohwy, J., & Enticott, P. G. (2017) · Brain Structure and Function · doi:10.1007/s00429-017-1484-1 · Cited by 11
Microfiber‐Knitted Crossweave Patterns for Multiresolution Physical Kineses Analysis Electronics
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“Relevant information can only be retrieved and delivered with an effective system to process auditory inputs while controlling vocal outputs (Prather et al., 2008; Beckers and Gahr, 2012).”
BackgroundSynthetic Birdsongs as a Tool to Induce, and Iisten to, Replay Activity in Sleeping Birds
Amador, A., & Mindlin, G. B. (2021) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2021.647978 · Cited by 11
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Vocal Communication in Androgynous Territorial Defense by Migratory Birds
Morton, E. S., & Stutchbury, B. J. M. (2012) · ISRN Zoology · doi:10.5402/2012/729307 · Cited by 11
“The widespread use of matched countersinging is a familiar example of territory defenders using the ranging ability of intruders to threaten them [20, 21].”
BackgroundMethodMirror neurons: Tests and testability
Catmur, C., Press, C., Cook, R., Bird, G., & Heyes, C. M. (2014) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x13002793 · Cited by 11
“We agree with Newman that it would be interesting to test for MNs in these species – indeed the presence of audio-vocal MNs in swamp sparrows has already been demonstrated (Prather et al., 2008).”
BackgroundNeural mechanisms of vocal imitation: The role of sleep replay in shaping mirror neurons
Giret, N., Edeline, J., & Negro, C. D. (2017) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.01.051 · Cited by 12
New Insights into the Avian Song System and Neuronal Control of Learned Vocalizations
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Self-citationCockatiels sing human music in synchrony with a playback of the melody
Seki, Y. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256613 · Cited by 8
Young, active and well-connected: adult-born neurons in the zebra finch are activated during singing
Tokarev, K., Boender, A. J., Classen, G. A. E., & Scharff, C. (2015) · Brain Structure and Function · doi:10.1007/s00429-015-1006-y · Cited by 10
“2002; Kozhevnikov and Fee 2007), but do not respond to auditory stimuli (Prather et al. 2008; Rauske et al. 2003).”
BackgroundLiterary Biomimesis: Mirror Neurons and the Ontological Priority of Representation
Jenson, D., & Iacoboni, M. (2011) · California Italian Studies · doi:10.5070/c321008945 · Cited by 10
Mockingbirds imitate frogs and toads across North America
Gammon, D. E., & Corsiglia, A. M. (2019) · Behavioural Processes · doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103982 · Cited by 10
Neural Mechanisms for Action Observation
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Inside Speech: Multisensory and Modality-specific Processing of Tongue and Lip Speech Actions
Treille, A., Vilain, C., Hueber, T., Lamalle, L., & Sato, M. (2016) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01057 · Cited by 9
Moseley, D. L., Joshi, N. R., Prather, J. F., Podos, J., & Remage‐Healey, L. (2017) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-017-17401-2 · Cited by 9
Self-citationRepertoire sharing and auditory responses in the HVC of the canary
Lehongre, K., & Negro, C. D. (2009) · Neuroreport · doi:10.1097/wnr.0b013e328320a6d8 · Cited by 9
The sensorimotor and social sides of the architecture of speech
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From perception to action in songbird production: Dynamics of a whole loop
Amador, A., Boari, S., & Mindlin, G. B. (2017) · Current Opinion in Systems Biology · doi:10.1016/j.coisb.2017.03.004 · Cited by 9
Functional Organization of the Brain
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Rolland, M., Negro, C. D., & Giret, N. (2022) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104942 · Cited by 9
“3) in which neurons respond to song playbacks (e.g. Dave and Margoliash, 2000; Giret et al., 2014; Prather et al., 2008).”
BackgroundHVC contributes toward conspecific contact call responding in male Bengalese finches
Urbano, C. M., Aston, A. E., & Cooper, B. G. (2016) · Neuroreport · doi:10.1097/wnr.0000000000000567 · Cited by 8
Auditory-Motor Matching in Vocal Recognition and Imitative Learning
Tramacere, A., Wada, K., Okanoya, K., Iriki, A., & Ferrari, P. F. (2019) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.01.056 · Cited by 9
The Mirror System in Monkeys and Humans and its Possible Motor-Based Functions
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A species-specific view of song representation in a sensorimotor nucleus
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“, 1976; Simpson and Vicario, 1990), and is thought to establish the correspondence between the auditory and motor representations of a vocalization (Prather et al., 2008) (see below).”
BackgroundInfluentialMusic and its Effect on Body, Brain/Mind:A Study on Indian Perspective by Neurophysical Approach
Banerjee, A., Sanyal, S., Sengupta, R., & Ghosh, D. C. (2015) · Insights in Blood Pressure · Cited by 8
International Year of Planet Earth
de Mulder, E. F. J., & Eder, W. (2011) · Encyclopedia of earth sciences series/Encyclopedia of earth sciences · doi:10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_193 · Cited by 8
A neuroethological view of the multifaceted sensory influences on birdsong
Costalunga, G., Vallentin, D., & Benichov, J. I. (2024) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.conb.2024.102867 · Cited by 7
Evidence and control of bifurcations in a respiratory system
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Memory-dependent adjustment of vocal response latencies in a territorial songbird
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Putting distance back into bird song with mirror neurons
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Network activity of mirror neurons depends on experience
Ushakov, V., Kartashov, S., Zavyalova, V. V., Bezverhiy, D. D., Posichanyuk, V. I., Terentev, V. N., & Anokhin, K. V. (2013) · Journal of Integrative Neuroscience · doi:10.1142/s0219635213500040 · Cited by 7
“Mirror neurons were discovered in (Miller, 2008; Prather et al., 2008) the songbirds in the process of learning singing and in cases,”
BackgroundMirror neurons in the songbird brain: A neural interface for learned vocal communication
Prather, J. F., & MOONEY, R. D. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199686155.003.0010 · Cited by 7
“This manipulation had no effect on the singing-related activity of HVCX cells, as has been shown for this cell type in a variety of songbird species (Kozhevnikov and Fee 2007; Prather et al. 2008; Hamaguchi et al. 2014).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationWhy do human and non-human species conceal mating? The cooperation maintenance hypothesis
Mocha, Y. B. (2020) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.1330 · Cited by 7
“that mirror neurons trigger sexual arousal in human [33] and non-human [44] primate observers of mating, and that mirror neurons exist in birds [45].”
BackgroundEvidence for Teaching in an Australian Songbird
Taylor, H. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.593532 · Cited by 8
What Is the Role of Thalamostriatal Circuits in Learning Vocal Sequences?
Xiao, L., & Roberts, T. F. (2021) · Frontiers in Neural Circuits · doi:10.3389/fncir.2021.724858 · Cited by 6
“While both HVCx and LMANx are thought to transmit efferent copies of premotor signals impinging on RA, HCVx is a likely source of the detailed timestamp for each moment in song in Area X, while LMANx is a likely source for information reflecting the variability of spectral features at each moment in song (Nixdorf-Berg…”
BackgroundModification of spectral features by nonhuman primates
Weiss, D. J., Hotchkin, C. F., & Parks, S. E. (2014) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x13004226 · Cited by 6
Neural oscillations are locked to birdsong rhythms in canaries
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“Vocal learning and production are some of many examples where this phenomenon plays a key role, as auditory-motor integration occurs (Bouchard et al., 2013; Dave & Margoliash, 2000; Hickok et al., 2011; Kelley & Bass, 2010; Prather et al., 2008; Pytte & Suthers, 2000).”
BackgroundA novel paradigm for observational learning in rats
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“While remarkable neurobiological insights have also been made, for example, in the songbird learning system (Prather et al. 2008 ; Vallentin et al. 2016), progress in uncovering the neural bases of non-aversive observational learning has been impeded by a dearth of paradigms which reliably yield de…”
BackgroundMirror Neurons, Birdsong, and Human Language: A Hypothesis
Lévy, F. (2012) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2011.00078 · Cited by 6
“The distinction made by Prather et al. (2008), between visual–motor and auditory–vocal “mirror” neurons may be important for human speech development.”
InfluentialModels of vocal learning in the songbird: Historical frameworks and the stabilizing critic
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“Because the putative stabilizing signals are Models of Vocal Learning in the Songbird 1097 Developmental Neurobiology carried by proposed mirror neurons, the HVC-Xs (Prather et al., 2008; Hilliard and White, 2009), and because the relay of stabilizing signals could be the function of all mirror systems, this revised p…”
BackgroundInfluentialFailure of operant control of vocal learning in budgerigars
Seki, Y., Osmanski, M. S., & Dooling, R. J. (2018) · Animal Behavior and Cognition · doi:10.26451/abc.05.01.11.2018 · Cited by 5
Training Young Killers: How Butcher Education Might Be Damaging Young People
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“The HVCRA interact with HVCX via local interneurons (Mooney and Prather, 2005), a disynaptic inhibitory pathway yielding song corollary discharge information in HVCX (Prather et al., 2008).”
BackgroundMeasuring context dependency in birdsong using artificial neural networks
Morita, T., Koda, H., Okanoya, K., & Tachibana, R. O. (2021) · PLoS Computational Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009707 · Cited by 24
Moral Responsiveness and Nonhuman Animals: A Challenge to Kantian Morality
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“…both when their host is completing an action and when their host bears witness (by sight and other senses) to that same action in another actor, have been found both in humans and in nonhuman animals, like macaque monkeys (di Pellegrino et al. 1992) and some species of bird (Prather et al. 2008).”
BackgroundCognitive Twists: The Coevolution of Learning and Genes in Human Cognition
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“Their coding properties are more likely to result from a domain-general process of Hebbian learning during development, which has turned some sensorimotor neurons to code both for self and other vocalizations (Hanuschkin et al. 2013; Mooney 2014; Prather et al. 2008; Prather et al. 2017).”
Familiarity and homogeneity affect the discrimination of a song dialect
Williams, H., Dobney, S. L., Robins, C. W., Norris, D. R., Doucet, S. M., & Mennill, D. J. (2024) · Animal Behaviour · doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.12.011 · Cited by 5
“Such neurons fi re both when the bird is singing and when it hears its own song or a similar song (Margoliash, 1983; Prather et al., 2008, 2009, 2010; Williams & Nottebohm, 1985).”
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Haldar, E., Subramanya, P., & von Bayern, A. M. P. (2024) · iScience · doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.111514 · Cited by 4
The Mirror Mechanism as Neurophysiological Basis for Action and Intention Understanding
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Joint Motor Action and Cross-Creature Embodiment
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“While these early findings reported on events that very clearly have an intentional component, mirror neuron activity has more recently been detected in song imitation in birds (Prather et al. 2008) and in gaze following (Shepherd et al. 2009; 2010).”
BackgroundDevelopment of Auditory-Vocal Perceptual Skills in Songbirds
Miller‐Sims, V. C., & Bottjer, S. W. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052365 · Cited by 5
“Furthermore, songbirds have auditory-vocal mirror neurons, which respond the same way when birds are producing their own song, as well as when they are hearing playback of the same note sequence produced by another bird [66].”
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Music and Mirror Neuron System
Nuara, A. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-23580-2_7 · Cited by 5
The Song Circuit as a Model of Basal Ganglia Function
Leblois, A., & Perkel, D. J. (2020) · Springer handbook of auditory research · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-34683-6_4 · Cited by 5
Welberg, L. (2008) · Nature reviews. Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn2340 · Cited by 5
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International Year of Planet Earth
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“Moreover, additional experimental evidence demonstrates that mirror neurons are not only present in mammalian species, as they have been found in songbirds as well [117,118].”
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“…the experimental discovery of mirror neurons in nonhuman primates (Rizzolatti and Craighero 2004; Arbib 2006), humans (Keysers and Gazzola 2010), and other species, including birds (Prather et al. 2008), suggests that mirror neurons are involved in mutual understanding (Keysers and Gazzola 2010).”
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“…have established that the BOS is an effective stimulus throughout the forebrain song system (McCasland and Konishi 1981; Margoliash 1983; Williams and Nottebohm 1985; Doupe and Konishi 1991; Margoliash and Fortune 1992; Janata and Margoliash 1999; Nealen and Schmidt 2006; Prather et al. 2008).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Prather, J. F., Peters, S., Nowicki, S., & Mooney, R.
- Affiliations
- Duke Medical Center (US)
- Duke University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mooney, R.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2008-01
- Volume
- 451
- Issue
- 7176
- Pages
- 305-310
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2009465679
- Cited by
- 463
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 49 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 38 · 2012: 30
- FWCI
- 31.39
- 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
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
- Keywords
- mirror neurons, vocal learning, songbirds, swamp sparrow, auditory feedback, song learning, striatum, vocal communication
- MeSH terms
- Acoustic Stimulation, Action Potentials, Animals, Auditory Perception, Electrophysiology, Imitative Behavior, Learning, Male, Neurons, Vocalization, Animal, Finches, Sparrows, High Vocal Center
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