Investigation of musicality in birdsong.

In conclusion, we suggest that birdsong research would benefit from current advances in music theory by attempting to identify structures that are designed to elicit listeners' emotions and then testing for such effects experimentally. Birdsong research that takes into account the striking complexity of song structure in light of its more immediate function - to affect behavioral state in listeners - could provide a useful animal model for studying basic principles of music neuroscience in a system that is very accessible for investigation, and where developmental auditory and social experience can be tightly controlled. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled <Music: A window into the hearing brain>. PMID: 24036130 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Hearing Research - Category: Audiology Authors: Tags: Hear Res Source Type: research