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The challenges of learning a complex skill – lessons from songbirds| old_uid | 19891 |
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| title | The challenges of learning a complex skill – lessons from songbirds |
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| start_date | 2021/12/17 |
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| schedule | 11h30-12h30 |
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| online | no |
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| location_info | salle R229 |
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| summary | How does one learn a complex motor skill with many constituent parts, such as a song, a dance, a language, or a sports game? In both humans and animals, learning skilled behaviors involves a gradual approximation of an internal representation of the desired behavior, rather than on external rewards or punishments. Finding a way to adjust one’s own behavior to match a complex internal goal is a computationally daunting task; it may be more efficient not to treat the entire behavior as a single goal, but instead to divide it into sub-goals and use distinct subroutines to attain each. We find that young Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) employ such “divide and conquer” approach to imitate the elaborate songs of adult individuals, using a combination of strategies for learning distinct levels of their song hierarchy. This may be an adaptation to the efficient learning of a complex vocal skill within a relatively short developmental time window. |
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| responsibles | Agulhon |
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