Zebra Finches are birds that hum very well, but once learning it from their father. But in a recent development in science, the scientists planted ‘False Memories’ in one of the Zebra Finch. Due to this, the Zebra Finch could hum tunes that they actually never learned and came due to the planting of ‘False Memories’.
Zebra Finches are small birds with a great social behavioral character. These birds are native to Central America and are very popular as pets. Just as a baby learn language by imitating whatever they hear from their surroundings, Zebra Finches also learn in the same way. The bird listens to their father’s songs and then tries to imitate them. This is how they learn to hum tunes.
The experiment was conducted to follow the brain pathway that lets the bird encode notes. Finally, the experts made conclusions about how humans learn to speak. The research can help the scientists to follow the genes and neuron scheme that can lead the scientists to the patterns to improve the language learning in people with symptoms of autism and other conditions that affect vocalization.
‘This is the first time we have confirmed brain region that encodes behavioral-goal memories- those memories that guide us when we want to imitate anything from speech to learning the piano,” Todd Roberts, who is a neuroscientist at the University of Texas Southwestern O’Donnel Brain institute. He also said that “The findings from this experiment will enable us to implant these memories into the birds and guide the learning of their song.”
Roberts and his mates used optogenetics to modify the Zebra Finch’s neurons without ever exposing them to singing. In this technique, the scientists use light to control who the Zebra Finch behave to the photosensitive proteins in neurons or brain cells. This allows researchers to take control when a neuron fires.