Kelley (1986)
KELLEY, Darcy B. “A Motor Theory of Song Perception.” Trends in Neurosciences 9/4 (Apr 1986): 149-150.
Kelley reviews some work done by researchers studying motor responses to auditory stimuli in songbirds. The findings indicate that a major factor in the processing (and by implication the comprehension) of conspecific-produced auditory stimuli is a motor neuron loop associated with the production of such sounds in the syrinx of the listening songbirds. This suggests “that song may only be totally intelligible to a nervous system capable of singing.” Interestingly, in the birdsong species studied, it is the males who sing. The studies indicated therefore the possibility that the songs, rather than being courtship displays for the females, may be combat displays between the males.
Since research dealing with humans has made similar connections between auditory and articulatory processes (cf. Kimura 1967), the potential ramifications of a motor theory of song perception, corresponding to a motor theory of speech perception, are wide ranging, especially in the realms of speech therapy and vocal pedagogy. In terms of comparative studies, it would be useful to ascertain whether there are gender differences in perception in humans. However, since male and female humans sing (in fact, females of our species appear to sing more than males), the process of the development of such skills may differ considerably from the process in birds.
