A recent study on budgerigars has unveiled how these birds imitate human speech through specialized neurons that control their vocal organs. Conducted by researchers including Michael Long, the study found a brain region in budgerigars analogous to a human speech production area, effectively creating a vocal motor map. Spectral analysis demonstrated that specific vocal pitches corresponded with the activation of designated neurons, providing insights into how budgerigars modulate their calls. This research may pave the way for understanding vocalization in other parrot species.
We discovered that there was a representation of vocal sounds in the part of the brain analogous to a key speech production center in humans.
For Zetian Yang, the lead author of the research, there is a correlation between the type of sound a budgie produces and the type of neurons that are activated.
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